Amid widespread searches by space agencies, humans have not succeeded in finding concrete evidence of a possible alien presence in the universe.
Considering the vastness of the universe, several space experts strongly believe that aliens might be thriving in the distant nooks of the universe.
Nitrous oxide's alien connection
And now, a team of researchers has suggested that looking for chemical signatures, including the presence of nitrous oxide, popularly known as laughing gas could be indicating the presence of alien life in distant space bodies.
The study carried out by researchers at the University of California revealed that chemical biosignatures should be the prime search point for humans if we want to discover aliens.
"There's been a lot of thought put into oxygen and methane as biosignatures. Fewer researchers have seriously considered nitrous oxide, but we think that may be a mistake," said Eddie Schwieterman, an astrobiologist in UCR's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
During the study, Schwieterman and his team calculated how regularly living organisms produce nitrous oxide. The team later entered that data into a planetary model.
The research team then determined that habitable exoplanets with nitrous oxide-rich atmospheres could be detected by tech like the James Webb Space Telescope.
Even though non-biological reasons like lightning may create nitrous oxide, researchers believe that the amount will be very low in such instances.
Aliens using quantum communication?
A few weeks back, a research report published in the Journal Physical Review suggested a possible way in which aliens could communicate with humans in the future.
According to the research report, extraterrestrials, if existent in the universe, could be using quantum communication to proclaim their presence to other beings.
