This Scientist-Designed Virtual Alien Lifeform Could Help Recognize Life on Other Planets

According to 404 Media, a study published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society detailed how scientists designed a virtual alien lifeform that could help astronomers recognize life on other planets. Led by Arwen Nicholson, an astrophysicist at Exeter University, the study took a different approach to past studies that speculated about extraterrestrial lifeforms.

As the study’s abstract states, “[…] the first alien life detected will potentially be living in conditions not found on our planet. This necessitates a generalized approach to modelling biology that can be applied to numerous planetary scenarios, built on fundamental knowledge of life on Earth, but not limited by it.”

Previous research into the matter has involved scientists theorizing about what types of lifeforms could evolve on various kinds of exoplanets. However, this study created a lifeform, or a general methanogen microbial cell model. Researchers then placed it into differing biospheres on hypothetical planets to understand how it behaves, knowledge of which may prove beneficial for identifying signs of life on distant worlds.

A Possible Key to Recognizing Biosignatures

Approximately four billion years ago, the Earth had far less oxygen, making it possible that the first lifeforms on the planet were methanogens, or microbes that produce methane gas. Methanogens still exist today. However, rather than depending only on sunlight for energy, like photosynthetic life, they can be chemosynthetic, running on chemical energy.

This makes methanogens adaptable, so they can act as a useful model for determining life in a wide variety of habitats, even those with a distinct lack of sunlight or starlight. Predicting how methanogens might impact such environments might enable scientists to recognize biosignatures on planets other than our own.

Nicholson explained, according to 404 Media, “That gives us a starting point to look at other planets. It’s a reaction we know works. It works on Earth, and it’s something that is thought to work in environments that are very different to Earth.”

What May Be Revealed Won’t Be Like the Movies

The research team played around with the methanogen microbial cell they developed, tweaking its size, life cycle, and potential environmental effects in alien biospheres. Doing this uncovered a wealth of insights, such as that the levels of methane and hydrogen on a planet are sensitive to the features of this microbe. This sensitivity means that, according to the study, “life will act to ‘erase’ abiotic aspects of their environment” through the transformation of the composition of atmospheric gases, which could then be picked up on by astronomers.

However, Nicholson and her team also clarified that while this method may help detect biosignatures in the future, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will inform astronomers what kind of lifeform is creating the signal. What these studies will help with is enabling researchers to tell a legitimate biosignature from atmospheric chemistry.

Nicholson stated, per 404 Media, “We don’t live in sci-fi. Sci-fi is super cool. I love it too. But the reality is, we’re looking at a habitable planet like our own. If we find anything, they will be life forms embedded in their world, just like we’re embedded in our world.”

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