Life by Diversity: A New Biosignature Based on Patterns of Molecular Diversity Across Molecules

To the point

Led by Itay Halevy and Yohai Kaspi with Gideon Yoffe, the method detects life by patterns of molecular diversity across related molecules rather than by any single compound, because living systems produce broader, function-driven diversity, and it can work with simple tools like mass spectrometers, having been tested on more than 100 samples from ancient Earth rocks, fossils, and asteroid material, guiding mission ideas to icy worlds such as Europa.