Are Scientific Claims of Alien Life Held to Higher Standards?

### Quick Summary
– Scientists claim “strongest evidence” for possible alien life on exoplanet *K2-18b* based on data from the James Webb space Telescope (JWST).
– Detected gases include methane, carbon dioxide, and molecules dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and dimethyl disulphide (DMDS), which are produced by living organisms on Earth.
– Researchers report a 99.4% probability that these detections aren’t flukes but caution remains due to limitations of remote sensing techniques.
– Similar hypotheses in past studies of Mars rocks and Venus atmosphere have been re-evaluated as probable non-biological phenomena following further scrutiny.
– The finding highlights the challenge in distinguishing molecular signatures caused by biological vs non-biological processes at great distances.

#### Images:
*A close-up of meteorite ALH84001, believed to be from Mars (image credit: NASA)*

*An artist’s depiction of the exoplanet K2-18b (Image credit: Hubble/M.Kornmesser via Wikimedia commons)*

### Indian Opinion Analysis
The ongoing exploration for extraterrestrial life showcases humanity’s scientific optimism tempered with rigorous caution. While advancements like JWST’s capacity to detect chemical markers such as DMS are remarkable,they exemplify a limitation imposed by indirect measurements over vast distances-highlighting India’s own challenges in astrophysics research which relies heavily on satellite missions like *AstroSat*.

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