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Scientists have discovered a rare molecule in the clouds of Venus, which suggests colonies of living microbes could be thriving in the oxygen-free environment high in the planet’s atmosphere.
While the surface of Venus is far too hot to sustain life, with a mean temperature of around 464C (867F), astronomers have speculated that life could survive high in the planet’s atmosphere where conditions are much more moderate.

Now an international team of astronomers led by Professor Jane Greaves of Cardiff University have announced the discovery of phosphine gas in these high clouds, a molecule which is produced on Earth by microbes that live in similar oxygen-free environments.

Image: Phosphine molecules have been detected in Venus’ clouds. Pic: ESO
The phosphine molecules, which consist of hydrogen and phosphorus atoms, were first detected from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii.
“This was an experiment made out of pure curiosity, really – taking advantage of the JCMT’s powerful technology,” said Professor Greaves, who led the study published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

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“I thought we’d just be able to rule out extreme scenarios, like the clouds being stuffed full of organisms. When we got the first hints of phosphine in Venus’ spectrum, it was a shock!”

After confirming the presence of phosphine, the international team of astronomers ran a number of calculations to see where it could have come from.

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They caution that natural processes couldn’t be ruled out due to the lack of information about the prevalence of phosphorus on Venus.
But work by Dr William Bains at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on natural ways to produce phosphine found that there was no way to produce the amount detected in Venus’ atmosphere.
To create the observed quantity of phosphine on Venus, organisms on Earth would only have to output the gas at about 10% of their maximum productivity, according to calculations by Dr Paul Rimmer of the University of Cambridge.

Image: Venus was observed from the JCMT in Hawaii. Pic: Will Montgomerie
Microbial life on Venus is expected to be very different to that on Earth, however, as it would need to survive in the hyper-acidic conditions of the planet’s clouds – made almost entirely from sulphuric acid.
On Earth, bacteria produces phosphine gas after absorbing phosphate minerals and adding hydrogen to it. This process is curious, as it costs the bacteria energy rather than gives it to them – so the evolutionary purpose for the process is unclear.
Some scientists believe phosphine is just a waste produce of another process, while some believe it could have an alternative purpose – such as warding off rivals.
The discovery offers a potential explanation for the mysterious dark streaks on the surface of Venus, detected by the Japanese space agency JAXA, which bizarrely absorb ultraviolet light.

Image: Venus is covered in clouds of sulphuric acid. Pic: JAXA
These dark streaks could be colonies of microbes, surviving in a pleasant 30C (86F) temperature of the high clouds, although the clouds themselves are incredibly acidic – made of about 90% sulphuric acid.
Professor Emma Bunce, president of the Royal Astronomical Society, congratulated the team on their work and called for a new mission to Venus to investigate their findings.
“A key question in science is whether life exists beyond Earth, and the discovery by Professor Jane Greaves and her team is a key step forward in that quest,” said Professor Bunce.
“I’m particularly delighted to see UK scientists leading such an important breakthrough – something that makes a strong case for a return space mission to Venus,” she added.

Microsoft’s bid to take over TikTok’s US operations has been rejected by Chinese owner ByteDance, with database specialist Oracle securing a deal to operate the popular video-sharing app.
The move comes just a week before President Donald Trump’s threatened ban on the app – claiming national security risks – is due to come into force.

Mr Trump had ordered the sale of TikTok’s operations in the US, where it has 100 million users.

TikTok hits back at Trump’s ban threat

ByteDance had been in talks to either sell to Oracle or a consortium led by Microsoft, and including retail giant Walmart.
But those talks were thrown off track after China updated export control rules last month – giving it a say over the transfer of TikTok’s algorithm to a foreign buyer.

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Microsoft disclosed on Sunday that its bid had been rejected.

It was later confirmed on Monday that ByteDance was to pursue a partnership with Oracle that it hopes will spare it from a US ban while also allaying any concerns from Beijing.

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The Chinese firm said the cloud computing specialist would serve as TikTok’s “trusted technology provider.”
The Reuters news agency, citing sources, reported that TikTok would create up to 25,000 new jobs in the US should the White House agree to the partnership.
TikTok is best known for short video clips that go viral on social media, especially among young people, but American officials are worried that user information could find its way into the hands of the Chinese government.
The app has said it would never share such data with Chinese authorities.

Trump: ‘I don’t mind’ if Microsoft buys TikTok

It was not yet clear whether Mr Trump, who favours an American tech firm owning a majority of TikTok in the US, would approve the deal.

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Oracle, whose chairman Larry Ellison is a supporter of the president, has significant technical expertise but no experience in running social media – instead dealing largely with corporate clients.
Its shares leapt more than 5% on news of the planned partnership.

UK-based chip designer Arm Holdings is to be sold to America’s Nvidia in a deal worth up to $40bn (£31bn).
But the sale was described as a “disaster” by Arm’s co-founder.

Nvidia said the company – which licenses its chip designs for use by major electronics brands such as Apple – would remain based in Cambridge and its site expanded.

Image: SoftBank bought Arm in 2016
However, Arm’s co-founder Hermann Hauser told Reuters: “It’s a disaster for Cambridge, the UK and Europe.
“It’s the last European technology company with global relevance and it’s being sold to the Americans.”

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Chip maker Nvidia is buying the business from Japanese technology empire Softbank, which acquired it four years ago for £24bn but has recently been seeking to raise cash.

The deal is likely to face close scrutiny from regulators and rivals.

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Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said: “Arm will remain headquartered in Cambridge.
“We will expand on this great site and build a world-class AI research facility, supporting developments in healthcare, life sciences, robotics, self-driving cars and other fields.”

2016: Arm co-founder Hermann Hauser comments on Softbank deal

Arm licenses its designs to most of the global semiconductor industry with customers including Intel, Qualcomm and Samsung.
The 180 billion chips sold based on its technology range from smartphones to toasters.
Nvidia’s acquisition of Arm is controversial because Arm’s customers are among Nvidia’s rivals.
The deal also puts the chip designer in the hands of a US-based firm at a time of trade friction between Washington and Beijing that is partly focused on technology – with Beijing trying to develop its own semiconductor industry.
Nvidia insisted that Arm would maintain the “global customer neutrality that has been foundational to its success”.
Mr Huang said the deal was “pro competition” and could create a “genuinely alternative” rival to Intel’s domination of the sector.
However, Mr Hauser – who previously expressed his dismay about Arm’s sale to Softbank – said the Nvidia deal would destroy Arm’s business model as “the Switzerland of the semiconductor industry”.
He called on the UK government to demand: a guarantee of jobs in Britain, the preservation of Arm’s open business model; and exception to US security reviews on client relationships.

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Nvidia will pay SoftBank $21.5bn in shares and $12bn in cash for Arm, with the transaction expected to complete by March 2022. Arm employees will also be issued with $1.5bn in Nvidia shares.
Softbank could receive an extra $5bn in cash or shares depending on Arm’s business performance.
Experts at the time of Arm’s sale to Softbank warned of a “brain drain” and there have been renewed concerns about its future in the run-up to the latest deal.
Last week, Labour’s Ed Miliband urged the government to obtain “legally binding assurances” that the business would remain in the UK “rather than see jobs and decision-making moved across the ocean”.

For the first time in many weeks, the official measures of the UK’s coronavirus outbreak are all pointing in the wrong direction.

Professor Sir Martin Hairer from Imperial College London has been awarded $3m (£2.3m) from Mark Zuckerberg’s science foundation for developing equations related to stirring a cup of tea.