title: Detecting nanoscale vibrations as signature of life.
abstract: The existence of life in extreme conditions, in particular in extraterrestrial environments, is certainly one of the most intriguing scientific questions of our time. In this report, we demonstrate the use of an innovative nanoscale motion sensor in life-searching experiments in Earth-bound and interplanetary missions. This technique exploits the sensitivity of nanomechanical oscillators to transduce the small fluctuations that characterize living systems. The intensity of such movements is an indication of the viability of living specimens and conveys information related to their metabolic activity. Here, we show that the nanomotion detector can assess the viability of a vast range of biological specimens and that it could be the perfect complement to conventional chemical life-detection assays. Indeed, by combining chemical and dynamical measurements, we could achieve an unprecedented depth in the characterization of life in extreme and extraterrestrial environments.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Vivante, Institut de Physique des Systèmes Biologiques, Facultè des Sciences des Base, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Département des Neurosciences Fondamentales, Faculté de Biologie et de Médecine, Université de Lausanne, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland; and.
authors.forename: Sandor
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kasas
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Vivante, Institut de Physique des Systèmes Biologiques, Facultè des Sciences des Base, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;
authors.forename: Francesco Simone
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Ruggeri
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Vivante, Institut de Physique des Systèmes Biologiques, Facultè des Sciences des Base, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;
authors.forename: Carine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Benadiba
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Vivante, Institut de Physique des Systèmes Biologiques, Facultè des Sciences des Base, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maillard
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Vivante, Institut de Physique des Systèmes Biologiques, Facultè des Sciences des Base, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;
authors.forename: Petar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stupar
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Microbiology, Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie (VIB), B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tournu
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Vivante, Institut de Physique des Systèmes Biologiques, Facultè des Sciences des Base, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland;
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dietler
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Vivante, Institut de Physique des Systèmes Biologiques, Facultè des Sciences des Base, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; giovanni.longo@epfl.ch.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Longo
keywords: extraterrestrial life; living specimens; nanomechanical sensors; nanomotion detector; nanoscale fluctuations