Fingerprinting Non-Terran Biosignatures.

Area of Science:

• Astrobiology
• Biochemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Current life detection strategies often rely on identifying Earth-like molecules.
• Exploring ocean worlds like Europa and Enceladus necessitates methods for detecting potentially alien life forms.
• Existing methods may fail to detect life with non-terran biochemistry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel, agnostic life detection concept for extraterrestrial exploration.
• To leverage DNA sequencing for creating informatics fingerprints of molecular patterns.
• To enable detection of life irrespective of its biochemical basis.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing folded nucleic acid structures (aptamers) to bind diverse compounds.
• Generating molecular "fingerprints" by analyzing aptamer binding patterns across multiple analytes.
• Employing chemometric protocols to classify molecular patterns and complexity.
• Exponential amplification of nucleic acids via polymerase chain reaction (PCR).

Main Results:

• Demonstrated that aptamers can bind a wide range of compounds, regardless of origin.
• Developed a chemometric approach to analyze binding data as molecular fingerprints.
• Showcased the potential for DNA sequencing to read these fingerprints.
• Established that PCR can amplify signals for robust detection.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method offers an empirical, agnostic approach to life detection.
• This technique can identify life even if it is not nucleic acid-based.
• The method is suitable for exploring diverse extraterrestrial environments with low-power instruments.