Name: The fingerprints of life beyond Earth
Uploaded: 2021-08-06T14:54:21Z
Duration: 7 min 48 s
Description: Is there life on Venus? Quantum astrochemist Clara Sousa-Silva makes the case for a new way to seek and possibly discover habitable planets -- and shares her research into a poisonous, smelly molecule that might signal life beyond Earth.

Clara Sousa-Silva: The fingerprints of life beyond Earth

The fingerprints of life beyond Earth

Is there life on Venus? Quantum astrochemist Clara Sousa-Silva makes the case for a new way to seek and possibly discover habitable planets -- and shares her research into a poisonous, smelly molecule that might signal life beyond Earth.

Searching for life beyond Earth means looking past familiar signs like oxygen and instead focusing on complex chemical fingerprints. The presence of phosphine, a toxic and foul-smelling gas, in places like Venus’s clouds and Earth’s swamps suggests it could signal life where oxygen is scarce. However, no single molecule is enough—detecting life will require recognizing intricate networks of interacting gases. As technology advances, the real challenge is ensuring we do not miss the subtle signs of alien biospheres when they finally appear.