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417 points fuidani | 1 comments | 17 Apr 25 08:02 UTC | HN request time: 0.202s | source

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throwaway290 ◴[17 Apr 25 08:55 UTC] No.43714434[source]▶

TL;DR

- K2-18b

- detected dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide, false positive possibility is now very low

- "produced by marine-dwelling organisms on Earth", possibility they were produced by other processes (unrelated to life as we know it) not high but maybe unknown unknowns

- other factors like distance from the star are in favor of life & water

- previous studies detected methane and carbon dioxide

replies(5): >>43714474 #>>43714477 #>>43714498 #>>43714512 #>>43714523 #

1. guax ◴[17 Apr 25 09:08 UTC] No.43714512[source]▶

>>43714434 #

> The observations also provided a tentative hint of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), a possible biosignature gas, but the inference was of low statistical significance.

From the source paper. It is a very important result but not definitive, false positive is still possible as well as us finding a new way in which DMS can form without a biological process.

Still freaking exciting and fantastic scientific achievement. JWST is already bearing incredible fruits.

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