Yes, and I saw the words “could be”.
Words like "could be", "possibly", "might", etc., are standard in scientific writing. Since scientists are always venturing into unknown territory, their interpretations of what they find could be (and often are) wrong. Since no scientist wants to be put on the spot for being wrong, they use those words to make sure readers know that they are aware that other explanations exist.
If you ever see a scientist writing with certainty about new things that have not been vetted by numerous other scientists doing numerous other studies, you can be fairly certain that that particular scientist is a clueless hack.