LUMOS (Life Unveiled via Molecular Orbital Signatures) Archives

Overview and performance of the LUMOS framework for biogenicity assessment. a, The LUMOS (Life Unveiled using Molecular Orbital Signatures) framework integrates amino acid abundance measurements with quantum chemical descriptors to evaluate biogenicity. First, the abundance of a set of amino acids is estimated, followed by the computation of molecular descriptors (e.g., HOMO–LUMO gap). These descriptors are then weighted by abundance using statistical features such as weighted variance. The resulting value is used to assess the confidence in biogenicity, informed by additional contextual data and environmental provenance. b, Heatmap of P(B|E), the confidence that a sample is biotic (B) given the observed weighted variance (evidence E) as a function of the number of amino acids measured. The prior P(B) is taken as 0.01. Color intensity reflects the biogenicity probability as determined by Bayesian inference applied to simulated distributions of biotic and abiotic samples. c, Criteria met by the LUMOS framework for distinguishing biotic from abiotic amino acid systems. -- astro-ph.EP

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Distinguishing Life From Non-life Via Molecular Frontier Orbital Energy Gaps

by Keith CowingFebruary 25, 2026February 26, 2026

Amino acids (AAs) are a key target in the search for life beyond Earth due to their extensive role in the machinery of all known life, persistence over geologic timescales, […]

LUMOS (Life Unveiled via Molecular Orbital Signatures)

Distinguishing Life From Non-life Via Molecular Frontier Orbital Energy Gaps

The Role Of Minerals In Prebiotic Evolution: Implications For Identifying Worlds With The Potential For Life’s Origin

Gen-EBM: An Energy Balance Model For Terrestrial Planets. Climate Multistability From Snowball To Post-runaway Greenhouse Climates

Astrometric Planet Search Around Southern Ultracool Dwarfs: V. Discovery Of The Exoplanet Candidate PALTA-1 b

Hubble Space Telescope Observations of Active Asteroid (101955) Bennu

SOPHIE And TESS Characterization Of Fourteen TESS Objects Of Interest: Nine Planetary Systems And Five Low-mass Stellar Companions