Searching for Alien Biosignatures: Non-Photosynthetic Organisms May Produce Novel Signatures of Life on Exoplanets

UWAB graduate student Edward Schwieterman, professor Victoria Meadows, and professor Charles Cockell at the UK Centre for Astrobiology present an interdisciplinary study of the possibility non-photosynthetic organisms may create signs of life on Earth-like exoplanets. These organisms contain pigments that reflect light differently than water, rocks, or photosynthetic organisms like land plants, producing spectral signatures that could indicate the presence of life. The paper resulted from an Astrobiology Program research rotation and was published in the May issue of Astrobiology.