biosignatures
BY-oh-sig-nuh-cherz
Definition
Any substance, structure, or phenomenon that provides scientific evidence of past or present life.
Etymology
Derived from the Greek prefix 'bio-' meaning 'life' and the Latin 'signatura' meaning 'a sign or mark,' it entered modern scientific vocabulary to describe objective evidence of biological activity.
In the news
The article uses the term to clarify that while the organic chemicals and energy sources found on Enceladus make the moon habitable, they do not serve as proof that life actually exists there.
Enceladus sprays water, phosphates, molecular hydrogen and complex organics straight out of its buried ocean — and a 2025 analysis found previously unseen organic compounds in freshly ejected ice, adding still more steps to the chemical pathways that c
Read the full article ↗ScienceBlog.com