ReviewAstrobiology2018
Exoplanet Biosignatures: A Framework for Their Assessment.
Review in Astrobiology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- From searching for extraterrestrial biosignatures to exploring the origins of life: A prebiotic chemistry perspective.Fundamental research · 2026Review
- Evolution and Observable Properties of Rocky Planet Atmospheres.Space science reviews · 2026Review
- Modelling exo-biospheres for biosignature predictions.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2025Review
- Is Life Binary or Gradual?Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Variations in climate habitability parameters and their effect on Earth's biosphere during the Phanerozoic Eon.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Chemical, Thermal, and Radiation Resistance of an Iron Porphyrin: A Model Study of Biosignature Stability.Astrobiology · 2022Article
- Searching for Life, Mindful of Lyfe's Possibilities.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Schrödinger and the Possible Existence of Different Types of Life.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Atmospheric characterization of terrestrial exoplanets in the mid-infrared: biosignatures, habitability, and diversity.Experimental astronomy · 2022Article
- Laboratory exploration of mineral precipitates from Europa's subsurface ocean.Journal of applied crystallography · 2021Article
- Article
- Super-Earths, M Dwarfs, and Photosynthetic Organisms: Habitability in the Lab.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
- Evaluating Biosignatures for Life Detection.Astrobiology · 2020Article
- Quantifying the information impact of future searches for exoplanetary biosignatures.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2020Article
- Deciphering Biosignatures in Planetary Contexts.Astrobiology · 2019Article
- Evaluating Biogenicity on the Geological Record With Synchrotron-Based Techniques.Frontiers in microbiology · 2019Review
- Exoplanet Biosignatures: Future Directions.Astrobiology · 2018Review
- Exoplanet Biosignatures: Observational Prospects.Astrobiology · 2018Review
- Exoplanet Biosignatures: Understanding Oxygen as a Biosignature in the Context of Its Environment.Astrobiology · 2018Review
- Exoplanet Biosignatures: At the Dawn of a New Era of Planetary Observations.Astrobiology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Finding life on exoplanets from telescopic observations is an ultimate goal of exoplanet science. Life produces gases and other substances, such as pigments, which can have distinct spectral or photometric signatures. Whether or not life is found with future data must be expressed with probabilities, requiring a framework of biosignature assessment. We present a framework in which we advocate using biogeochemical "Exo-Earth System" models to simulate potential biosignatures in spectra or photometry. Given actual observations, simulations are used to find the Bayesian likelihoods of those data occurring for scenarios with and without life. The latter includes "false positives" wherein abiotic sources mimic biosignatures. Prior knowledge of factors influencing planetary inhabitation, including previous observations, is combined with the likelihoods to give the Bayesian posterior probability of life existing on a given exoplanet. Four components of observation and analysis are necessary. (1) Characterization of stellar (e.g., age and spectrum) and exoplanetary system properties, including "external" exoplanet parameters (e.g., mass and radius), to determine an exoplanet's suitability for life. (2) Characterization of "internal" exoplanet parameters (e.g., climate) to evaluate habitability. (3) Assessment of potential biosignatures within the environmental context (components 1-2), including corroborating evidence. (4) Exclusion of false positives. We propose that resulting posterior Bayesian probabilities of life's existence map to five confidence levels, ranging from "very likely" (90-100%) to "very unlikely" (<10%) inhabited. Key Words: Bayesian statistics-Biosignatures-Drake equation-Exoplanets-Habitability-Planetary science. Astrobiology 18, 709-738.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.