The volatile sulphur compound, dimethyl sulphide (DMS), gives the sea its distinctive odour. It is produced by blooms of algae floating close to the sea surface and is regarded by scientists as a biosignature — an indication of the possibility of life. Last week, a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters suggested an abundance of DMS on a planet, K2-18b, that orbits a star 124 light years from Earth. The study led by Cambridge scientist Nikku Madhusudhan suggests that the DMS concentrations on the planet are thousands of times stronger than on Earth. The scientists used data from the James Webb Telescope to generate the strongest indication, so........

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