From Viking to Perseverance, scientists have spent decades chasing chemical hints that could point to life beyond Earth.

The first sign of possible extraterrestrials detected in the cosmos didn't come in the form of little green aliens flying around in saucer-shaped spacecraft. In fact, the life that could be – emphasis ...

This April, news reports linked the stinky gas dimethyl sulfide (DMS) in the atmosphere of a distant exoplanet called K2-18b to possible life on it. The reports, prompted by work led by astronomer ...

From mudstones on Mars to strange gases in exoplanet atmospheres, tentative evidence for extraterrestrial life is starting to ...

Discovering extraterrestrial life has tantalized the public imagination as far back as Epicurean philosophers in Ancient Greece. Yet despite centuries of speculation, the search for alien lifeforms ...

A rocky, Earth-size planet located in our Milky Way galaxy may have an atmosphere around it, according to new research, raising the possibility that it could also have liquid water on its surface and ...

The skepticism and debate around the question of "are we alone in the universe" makes the field of astrobiology more cautious When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate ...

We’re celebrating 180 years of Scientific American. Explore our legacy of discovery and look ahead to the future. In the late 1800s Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli pointed a telescope at Mars ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Dr. Lance B. Eliot is a world-renowned AI scientist and consultant. In today’s column, I explore a fascinating proposition about ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. Who hasn't looked into the sky and wondered if there's life out there, somewhere, looking back at ...

K2-18b resides within the habitable zone of its star, making the presence of liquid water and thus life possible. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, researchers detected molecules in K2-18b's ...