Instrumentation and Modeling Advances for Distinguishing Biogenic from Abiotic Biosignatures on Earth and Mars

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Proving ancient or extraterrestrial life from morphological biosignatures requires advanced imaging and spectroscopy guided by process-based models, a clear set of criteria to separate biogenic from abiotic features, and a comprehensive database to distinguish true microbial traits from nonbiological mimics.

Morphological biosignatures and the search for life on Mars - PubMed
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Morphological biosignatures and the search for life on Mars - PubMed

This report provides a rationale for the advances in instrumentation and understanding needed to assess claims of ancient and extraterrestrial life made on the basis of morphological biosignatures. Morphological biosignatures consist of bona fide microbial fossils as well as microbially influenced s …