The death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday will inevitably have prompted moments of deep introspection among those who believe – and many of those who don’t – about the meaning and finiteness of life.

To the Catholic Church, the Pontiff is God’s representative on Earth, and his passing is a reminder that, no matter who we are, our time is limited.

While there was barely a news outlet globally that will not have reported the Pope’s passing, there was another event last week that raised even more profound questions about the nature of human existence, that merited barely a flicker of attention.

The discovery of gas particles on the edge of our galaxy provided the “strongest evidence yet” of the existence of life on another planet.

Read more by Carlos Alba

Scientists at Cambridge University's Institute of Astronomy, using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), have detected molecules surrounding a planet named K2-18b, which on Earth are only produced by simple organisms.

Their research indicates the existence of a chemical signature matching dimethyl sulphide (DMS) or dimethyl disulphide (DMDS), both of which are known by-products of marine phytoplankton and bacteria on Earth, making their discovery a potentially significant development in the search for extraterrestrial life.

Professor Nikku Madhusudhan, the lead researcher, said he was surprised at the amount of the gas apparently detected in a single observation window, which is thousands of times higher than that on Earth.

"If the association with life is real, then this planet will be teeming with life," he added.

"If we confirm that there is life on K2-18b, it should basically confirm........

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