Phosphates have been found on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, in a new breakthrough discovery that boosts hopes for finding alien life in our solar system. It is the first time phosphorus has been found in an ocean beyond those on Earth, and marks a major development in our understanding of other ocean worlds. Enceladus is one of the most likely hopes for finding nearby extraterrestrial life. While its outside is wrapped in an ice crust, underneath is a global ocean that could be a home for alien life. Some of that ocean spews up and out of the surface of Enceladus, in the form of vast plumes. Scientists have been able to examine those plumes to better understand the ocean itself, including in the new study. Researchers in the latest study used data from the Cassini mission – which flew around Saturn and Enceladus – to find out what the oceans are made up of. They not only found phosphorus, but data suggested that it could be there are concentrations at least 100 times higher than in Earth’s oceans. What’s more, modelling based on the new data suggests the same could be true for other ocean worlds, potentially boosting the chances of alien life there, too. Phosphorus is not in itself evidence of life. But on Earth, the presence of phosphorus compounds in water are crucial for biological activity, and so it is a key part of evaluating whether a distant world might support life. The work is described in a new paper, ‘Detection of phosphates originating from Enceladus’s ocean’, published in Nature. The breakthrough is just the latest in a series of findings from Enceladus. Recently, scientists found that the moon’s plumes were particularly vast, shooting out 20 times the length of the planet itself and with enough water to fill an olympic swimming pool in a couple of hours. Unlike the new phosphorus findings, which relied on the Cassini spacecraft sent by Nasa to Saturn, that work was conducted by the James Webb Space Telescope, which scientists hope will allow us to understand the distant moon in much more detail. Read More Watch: Strawberry moon lights up skies over UK Nasa invites public to sign ‘message in a bottle’ that will fly to Jupiter’s moon Watch as astronauts step out of ISS for latest spacewalk

Breaking down the Open Championship weather forecast for Royal Liverpool Golf Club to examine the conditions players will be golfing in this week.When you think of The Open Championship, the weather is always one of the first topic of discussions. For the majority of the courses in the rota put ...

Is Apex Legends headed toward disaster? Content creator iiTzTimmy posed this question on Twitter and the responses have been interesting, to say the least.

South Africa's Ashleigh Buhai, the reigning Women's British Open champion, fired her second consecutive six-under par 65 on Sunday to win the ShopRite...

The threat of a strike at one competitor and the bankruptcy of another proved beneficial for FedEx this summer.

Players looking to take advantage of Hogwarts Legacy's launch week can earn themselves some exclusive in-game content on Twitch.

The Detroit Lions are going back to Lambeau Field for the first time since ending Aaron Rodgers’ career in Green Bay

Apple has denied claims that its iPhone 12 emits illegal levels of radiation for users, amid fears that the phone could face a Europe-wide recall. France’s National Frequency Agency (ANFR) said on Tuesday that tests had revealed unusually high levels of electromagnetic radiation being emitted from the device. The smartphone, which was released in 2020, has a reported Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) that is 40 per cent above the legal limit, according to to agency. The ANFR therefore ordered Apple to halt sales of the device and warned that a recall would follow if Apple fails to fix the problem. A spokesperson for Apple told The Independent that it contests the results of the findings made by the AFNR and is engaging with the regulator in an effort to prove that its iPhone 12 is compliant. The US tech giant said it has provided the ANFR with independent third-party lab results proving the iPhone 12’s compliance, and has already been certified by multiple international bodies that it meets SAR regulations. The Independent has reached out to the AFNR for comment. Other regulators across Europe have warned that the French findings could have implications for the rest of the continent, with Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands all signalling that they might follow the sales ban. Dutch digital watchdog Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur (RDI) said on Wednesday that there did not appear to be an “acute safety risk” but that the Netherlands attached “as much importance as France to safe use of mobile phones”. On Tuesday, France’s junior minister for digital economy said that the ANFR’s findings would be shared with other EU member states, warning that it could have a “snowball effect” for the smartphone maker. Apple is set to discontinue sales of the iPhone 12 following the launch of the iPhone 15 earlier this week, however any potential recall could prove damaging. German regulators said on Thursday that the French procedure could have implications for the whole of Europe. Read More France’s iPhone 12 ban could spread across Europe, regulators say

Check out the latest Taylor Swift updates from the day

The Pokémon Company admits it may well have to change the way it works to have constant releases that are high quality.

India and Saudi Arabia have agreed to expand trade and security ties, two days after their leaders and others attending a Group of 20 summit announced a new railways and port corridor deal that will link India, Middle East and Europe

With new head coach Ime Udoka and two expensive free agent additions Fred Vanvleet and Dillon Brooks joining this summer, the Houston Rockets are attempting to transition out of their rebuild.