NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has discovered preliminary evidence of matter that may indicate the existence of extraterrestrial life.
The British BBC network revealed, “The substance that was discovered in outer space is “dimethyl sulfide,” which has the symbol (DMS), and is produced by life.
The researchers confirm that the discovery of DMS on the planet, which is 120 light-years away, is “not strong” and more data is needed to confirm its presence.
The researchers also detected methane and carbon dioxide in the planet's atmosphere, called K2-18b, which may indicate the presence of a water ocean.
For his part, Professor from the University of Cambridge, Nico Madhusudan, who led the research, said that his entire team was “shocked” when they saw the results.
"On Earth, DMS is produced only by life. The bulk of it in Earth's atmosphere is emitted by phytoplankton in marine environments," he added.
But Professor Madhusudan described the discovery of DMS as “preliminary,” stressing that “more data is needed to confirm its existence. It is expected that these results will be released within one year.”
This is the first time that astronomers have discovered the possibility of the existence of a DMS on a planet orbiting a distant star. But they treat the findings with caution, noting that “a claim made in 2020 that there was another molecule, called phosphine, that could be produced by organisms in Venus’ clouds was disputed a year later.”
However, Dr Robert Massey, independent of the research and deputy director of the Royal Astronomical Society in London, revealed his "enthusiasm" about the results, saying: "We are slowly moving towards the point where we will be able to answer this big question of whether we are alone in the universe." or not".
"I'm optimistic that one day we'll find signs of life. Maybe that will be, maybe in 10 or even 50 years we'll have evidence so convincing that it's a better explanation," he explained.