A couple of videos on the discovery:
And one that is a bit more in-depth:
Dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide are both ONLY produced by biological activity on Earth. That does not preclude the possibility that it may be being produced by some sort of exotic chemistry found on the exoplanet -some combination of chemicals in the atmosphere reacting with some exotic minerals on the surface, for example, but it IS a strong indicator.
The last video talks about the debate on whether red dwarves can produce life in the biozones around them, since they are often flare stars, but it doesn't go into the other objection for life at red dwarves, which is that if a planet is close enough to the star to be in the biozone, it's also likely to be close enough to be "tidally locked" to the the star (as the moon is to Earth). That would cause it to always present the same hemisphere to the star, meaning that one side would get all the solar radiation from the star - it would have a "hot" side and a "cold" side, both of which would likely be inimical to the development of life. However, few if any scientists address the area of the "terminator" any such planet would have. The terminator is the "twilight zone" between the day side and the night side, an area where temperatures could allow for the formation of life.
Another potential mechanism would be oceanic currents carrying heat from the hot side to the cool side, and carrying water from the cool side to the hot side to maintain equilibrium. That would have the effect of warming the cool side and cooling the hot side continuously. The same sort of heat exchange via current flows would also naturally apply to atmospheric gasses. The combination colud allow for a heat threshold that would allow life to exist, as well as some probably hellacious storms.
Also, since oxygen has not been detected there, then no photosynthesis is occurring. A potential explanation for that would be that the planet is tidally locked, and the hot side is too hot for life to exist, but the cold side is not too cold. So then life would only exist on the cold side, and of course the cold side would be getting little to no solar radiation... therefore, photosynthesis would not develop as a means of economy for that form of life. Something else - hydrothermal vents, for example - would be the driving force powering the life.
.
And one that is a bit more in-depth:
Dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide are both ONLY produced by biological activity on Earth. That does not preclude the possibility that it may be being produced by some sort of exotic chemistry found on the exoplanet -some combination of chemicals in the atmosphere reacting with some exotic minerals on the surface, for example, but it IS a strong indicator.
The last video talks about the debate on whether red dwarves can produce life in the biozones around them, since they are often flare stars, but it doesn't go into the other objection for life at red dwarves, which is that if a planet is close enough to the star to be in the biozone, it's also likely to be close enough to be "tidally locked" to the the star (as the moon is to Earth). That would cause it to always present the same hemisphere to the star, meaning that one side would get all the solar radiation from the star - it would have a "hot" side and a "cold" side, both of which would likely be inimical to the development of life. However, few if any scientists address the area of the "terminator" any such planet would have. The terminator is the "twilight zone" between the day side and the night side, an area where temperatures could allow for the formation of life.
Another potential mechanism would be oceanic currents carrying heat from the hot side to the cool side, and carrying water from the cool side to the hot side to maintain equilibrium. That would have the effect of warming the cool side and cooling the hot side continuously. The same sort of heat exchange via current flows would also naturally apply to atmospheric gasses. The combination colud allow for a heat threshold that would allow life to exist, as well as some probably hellacious storms.
Also, since oxygen has not been detected there, then no photosynthesis is occurring. A potential explanation for that would be that the planet is tidally locked, and the hot side is too hot for life to exist, but the cold side is not too cold. So then life would only exist on the cold side, and of course the cold side would be getting little to no solar radiation... therefore, photosynthesis would not develop as a means of economy for that form of life. Something else - hydrothermal vents, for example - would be the driving force powering the life.
.
“Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage among his books. For to you kingdoms and their armies are things mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment, to be overturned with the flick of a finger.”
― Gordon R. Dickson, Tactics of Mistake
― Gordon R. Dickson, Tactics of Mistake