The development of the James Web Space Telescope has enabled astronomers to discover much more about far-off planets than they previously could, including gases in the atmosphere of exoplanets that could potentially be indicative of the existence of life.
However, one exoplanet, K2-18b, has revealed what might be signs of biological life in its atmosphere, according to research from the University of Cambridge.
The presence of both dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide gases on the exoplanet are most likely the result of biological life - most likely of a marine phytoplankton variety, according to the researchers.
There is a downside, though; based on research conducted at Oxford, the detection of the gases may simply be a case of looking for something and subsequently finding it, rather than an actual detection of the gases.
Further research will be needed to conclusively determine whether or not the gases are genuinely present in the atmosphere of K2-18b.
