https://phys.org/news/2018-07-glacial-biomarkers-hone-extraterrestrial-life.html

Understanding these lake systems will help scientists to interpret biomarkers in ancient lakes both on Earth or other planets. Although the organisms themselves are long dead, the traces and history of their deaths are encoded in the biomolecules that litter the lakes' sediments.

The implications of these biomolecules extend far beyond the boundaries of these lakes: they could help scientists to recreate the evolutionary history of extraterrestrial life. The scientists' findings were described in a recent article in Astrobiology.