For decades astronomers have typically searched for extraterrestrial life by looking for biosignatures — compounds that suggest the presence of life — in other solar systems. The logic behind looking for biosignatures is that life on Earth has existed for approximately 3.7 billion years, and has been reliant on the presence of the same ingredients since its inception: carbon, water, and carbon dioxide, to name a few.
The findings hint at how life forms in the universe, and may provide scientists with the types of clues that will help them find alien life one day.
