Life sign
A life sign, bio-sign, biosignature, bio-electrical signature, bioreading, or life reading was a signal or collection of signals given off by a lifeform that indicates that it is currently alive, or functional. They were unique to a species. Upon approaching another starship or a planet for which they had limited intelligence, starships usually performed a scan for life signs. This information became part of the bridge crew's determination as to whether to board the ship, send a landing party, or carry out any other action. By the 24th century, Starfleet sensors were sensitive enough to discern an individual's identity based on their biosignature. ()

The bio-signs of an individual undergoing Borg assimilation would appear to be erratic. Once assimilation was complete and the victim was fully transformed into a Borg drone, they would no longer read as their original species. (; )

 picked up no biosigns when scanning the Terra Nova colony in 2151. Later, after  the Novans,  detected fifty-two Human biosigns in the tunnels and caverns beneath the surface. ()

While maintaining a hostage situation at the Vulcan monastery at P'Jem in June of 2151, the Andorian Keval detected suddenly three new biosigns, all Human, while operating the Andorian scanner in the atrium of the . It was the assault team from Enterprise which secretly beamed down into the building. ()

In 2152, the crew of Enterprise managed to isolate Captain Archer's biosignature, confirming that he had not become a casualty of a conflict between Andorians and Vulcans on the surface of a contested planet. ()

In 2154, Shran's crew was able to locate Ambassador Soval aboard Enterprise by isolating Soval's biosignature for the purpose of abducting and torturing him for information on Vulcan fleet deployments. ()

Later that year, the biosignature of a prisoner in Enterprises sickbay revealed him to be Klingon, a fact which surprised the crew, as the augment virus had altered his outward appearance to resemble a Human. ()

The  was designed to track its crew member's life signs. When Captain Richard Robau was murdered in 2233 of an alternate reality, the computer signaled his termination. ()

The  also monitored life signs of crew in environmental suits undergoing space dives. (; )

In 2366, Data detected life readings and campfires from the planet surface of Gamma Hromi II. ()

Dr. Juliana Tainer was a Soong-type android that was designed to give off Human life signs. ()

In 2370, Ensign Taurik detected bioreadings which indicated humanoid passengers inside a Cardassian escape pod with failing life support systems. He was about to attempt lifeform identification when Geordi La Forge prevented him, instead prioritizing getting the passengers aboard the  safely. Later, after leaving for a secret and dangerous mission with the Cardassian passenger Joret Dal, Ensign Sito Jaxa failed to appear at the rendezvous point with the Enterprise, being thirty-two hours overdue. Commander William T. Riker suggested narrowing the scan field to see if any biosigns could be picked up. Ensign Sam Lavelle requested to know what kind of life signs to look for, to which Riker responded Bajoran. ()

In 2371, Neelix detected a bio-electrical signature while surveying the caves inside an asteroid leading to the conclusion there was another lifeform. ()

In 2372, a subspace divergence field perfectly duplicated every particle of matter aboard the , a fact which was revealed to the crew when they realized that all of their sensor readings had doubled the moment they encountered the field, including mass, energy output, and biosignatures. ()

Later that year, Ensign Harry Kim, Voyagers chief of operations, was able to detect three extremely faint biosignatures 2.3 kilometers beneath the surface of a Kohl settlement, revealing the presence of a group of aliens in suspended animation. ()

In 2373, Ensign Kim picked up some bioreadings from the outer hull of one of 15 Borg cubes that had been destroyed. It was revealed to be a Species 8472 bio-ship, but Voyagers sensors could not penetrate its surface. Captain Kathryn Janeway ordered Commander Chakotay to take an away team inside one of the cubes to get a short range scan of the biomass, though Tuvok warned that there were unstable Borg life signs. ()

In 2375, Lieutenant , the 's tactical officer, detected Captain Picard's biosignature aboard the Son'a collector. This allowed the Enterprise to beam Picard off of the collector moments before it exploded. ()

Captain Janeway went to sickbay with symptoms of nausea and dizziness which The Doctor diagnosed as a simple case of space sickness, the third that he had treated that day. Janeway considered that odd as they hadn't run into any turbulence. The Doctor suggested that inertial dampers could be out of alignment. While she would check the dampers, Janeway told The Doctor to double-check his bioreadings to see if there was another explanation. ()

In 2376, while attempting to salvage an ion distributor from the recently discovered Ares IV, Seven of Nine instructed Lieutenant Paris to obtain a transporter lock on both her biosignature and combadge, which she had placed on the corpse of Lieutenant John Kelly, allowing Paris to retrieve both Seven and Kelly at the same time. ()

That same year, Seven was able to alter her own biosignature in a successful attempt to prevent the Voyager crew from obtaining a transporter lock on her, after she stole a shuttlecraft while experiencing paranoid delusions, believing that the crew had been conspiring against her. ()

Later that year, after crewman William Telfer was abducted by a dark matter lifeform, Crewman Tal Celes frantically attempted to locate Telfer's biosignature, with no success. ()

The next year, Ensign Kim managed to isolate the biosignatures of an away team which had successfully infiltrated a Borg tactical cube, but was unable to beam them out until the cube's shields were deactivated. ()

Later that year, General Geral, an Annari, informed Captain Janeway that he had recently detected two Human biosignatures aboard a warship, belonging to the Kraylor, a species with which the Annari were at war, and subsequently escorted Voyager out of Annari space. ()

In approximately 3074, The Doctor's backup module determined that if he could access bioreadings of the deceased Tedran inside a tricorder, they could be used as evidence to prove that Tedran was killed by a Vaskan weapon and not by Captain Kathryn Janeway. ()

See also
Bioelectric field
Bioelectric pattern
Vital signs

External links

de:Lebenszeichen
Biology
Medical scans
Sensor technology
Medical measurements