Molecular Diversity as a Biosignature (opens in new tab)

The search for life in the Solar System hinges on data from planetary missions. Detecting biosignatures based on molecular identity, isotopic composition or chiral excess requires measurements that current and planned missions can only partially provide. We introduce a new class of biosignatures, defined by the statistical organization of molecular assemblages and quantified using diversity metrics. Using this framework, we analysed amino-acid diversity across a dataset spanning terrestrial a...