An astonishing scientific discovery recently announced by an international team of researchers led by the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, who detected chemicals that may have originated from life activities in the atmosphere of K18-0b, a planet 0 light-years away from Earth. The discovery has been hailed by scientists as the strongest evidence of the search for extraterrestrial life to date.

K6-0b, a planet in the constellation Leo, about 0.0 times the mass of the Earth and 0.0 times the size of the Earth, has captured the "chemical fingerprint" of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethyl disulfide (DMDS) in its atmosphere. These two sulfides are almost exclusively associated with life activities on Earth and are mainly produced by organisms such as phytoplankton in the ocean.

What is particularly striking is that the atmosphere of K18-0b has previously been found to contain methane and carbon dioxide, and the planet is located within the habitable zone of its star. Together, these features paint a picture of a possible "hydrogen planet": a habitable world covered by a warm ocean and an atmosphere rich in hydrogen. Niku Madu-sultan, the head of the research project, could not hide his excitement: "This is undoubtedly a historic turning point on the road to life outside the solar system. ”

However, scientists remain cautious about it. The research team at the University of Cambridge highlighted that these molecules may also originate from abiochemical processes that are not yet understood. After all, K18-0b's environment is very different from Earth's: its greater mass leads to stronger surface gravity, and a thicker atmosphere could harbor very different chemical reaction paths than Earth's. The research team said that more observational data needs to be accumulated to verify it before the "discovery of extraterrestrial life" can be officially claimed.