Scientists develop new assay to detect signs of life on alien planets

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New Delhi: Scientists from NASA have developed a new chemical test that could help in detecting the signs of life on alien planets.

The test uses a liquid-based technique known as capillary electrophoresis to separate a mixture of organic molecules into its components.

It was designed by researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the US specifically to analyse for amino acids, the structural building blocks of all life on Earth.

The method is 10,000 times more sensitive than current methods employed by spacecraft like NASA's Mars Curiosity rover, according to researchers.
One of the key advantages of the new way of using capillary electrophoresis is that the process is relatively simple and easy to automate for liquid samples expected on ocean world missions.

It involves combining a liquid sample with a liquid reagent, followed by chemical analysis under conditions determined by the team.

By shining a laser across the mixture - a process known as laser-induced fluorescence detection - specific molecules can be observed moving at different speeds.

They get separated based on how quickly they respond to electric fields.

While capillary electrophoresis has been around since the early 1980s, this is the first time it has been tailored specifically to detect extraterrestrial life on an ocean world, said Jessica Creamer, a postdoctoral scholar at JPL.

(With PTI inputs)