Category: Astrobiology

Energetic winds from a distant X-ray source

A team of astronomers were studying GRS 1716-249, an object believed to host a black hole. A wind of gas flowing out of it can be seen in visible light, making it the sixth object of its class to have shown this feature till date.

Mysterious gas found near Milky Way’s center

A mysterious cold gas shooting out of the center of the Milky Way galaxy has left scientists puzzled.

A peek into stellar childhood: How do stars grow?

Maybe you didn't have a stellar childhood, but stars definitely did. (Get it?) Learn about a major research project that investigated one mechanism involved in how stars get bigger.

How stars can limit life in the universe

For the past few decades, scientists have been looking at planets outside of our solar system to see if they could host life. Now, scientists have discovered another factor for habitability: radiation from the planet’s central star.

Could Life Thrive on Radiation? Scientists Say It’s Possible

All life on Earth survives because of the sun. Plants use a process called photosynthesis to transfer energy from the Sun’s rays into the sugars that build their stems and leaves. Animals either eat the plants directly, or eat other animals that have eaten plants. Countless other organisms, like bacteria, algae, and…

How water shaped the Earth

Posted on November 21, 2020April 1, 2021 by Romulo Cruz 32 views

Water has molded our planet into what it is today, in ways you may not have imagined! #water #waterislife

Could “Fools’ Gold” have helped build the first proteins?

Posted on September 21, 2020January 15, 2021 by Marcos Jusino-Maldonado 26 views

How and why humans exist are questions that have challenged different cultures ever since the dawn of civilization. Many scientists have taken upon their…

What beached whales can teach us about antibiotic resistance

Posted on September 17, 2020January 15, 2021 by Ma. Francesca Santiago 40 views

Researchers found that more than half of the bacteria collected from stranded cetaceans in the Philippines showed antimicrobial resistance to commonly used…

Deep-sea mining impacts on diverse ocean ecosystems

Posted on September 1, 2020April 7, 2021 by ACorpolongo 22 views

Sunlight does not reach the deepest parts of the ocean, but life still thrives in the darkness. Below depths of 200 meters, where sunlight cannot reach, some…

What happens when astronaut teams don’t get along? A researcher at NASA is interested in studying crew dynamics in the extreme environment of long term space flight to help keep everybody sane, healthy, and productive.

Posted on April 15, 2021April 15, 2021 by Jessica Snyder 83 views

Professor Contractor Noshir knows how to help you get along better with your coworkers. He studies the interpersonal dynamics of crews in extreme environments, like a 3 year mission to Mars!

A software program builds alternative DNA molecules Scientists are using computer programs to build alternative DNA molecules called XNAs. These XNAs will teach us what is possible for life!

Posted on April 7, 2021April 7, 2021 by Rachel Holland 222 views

Scientists are using computer programs to understand our early beginnings. Click on the link to see how they are doing it, and how they might discover the genetic chemistry of life in the cosmos!

Microbes from extreme environments help us study space Scientists study extremophilic strains of bacteria and archaea from around the planet to gain valuable insights on their behavior in harsh space environment.

Posted on March 18, 2021April 7, 2021 by Anisha Shastri 198 views

Space is a hostile place. It has numerous stressors which make it seem impossible for Earth-like life to thrive there. Some of these stresses include harmful ultraviolet radiation, anaerobic conditions (environment devoid of oxygen), high temperature, and varying pressure. Extremophiles are organisms that live in…

Are we looking for Martian life in the right place? Is Mars truly a desolate, sterile desert? Some scientists think not, and suggest turning our sights to the planet’s hidden underworld for answers.

Posted on February 4, 2021April 2, 2021 by Chris Patterson 59 views

Thus far, we have not found evidence of life on Mars. Is it truly a sterile desert, or are we simply looking in the wrong place? #Mars #NASA

A stinky noxious gas could point us toward alien life Whatever happened with life on venus? Phosphine can accumulate in a planet’s atmosphere where telescopes from Earth might be able to detect it

Posted on February 1, 2021April 2, 2021 by Genesis Berlanga 31 views

Hold your noses! ET life might produce noxious gases in the form of #phosphine. Here’s why phosphine is an important marker in the search for alien life in the universe. #astrobiology #biosignatures #exoplanets

Microscopic animals glow in the dark to survive radiation Scientists found a new species of tardigrade that protects itself from UV radiation with the help of a naturally occurring fluorescence in its body.

Posted on January 18, 2021April 2, 2021 by Anurup Mohanty 49 views

Glowing #tardigrades?! Learn how a newly discovered species of tardigrade survive extreme UV radiation. #astrobiology

What 600 days in space does to living cells The BIOlogy and Mars EXperiment (BIOMEX) project used Chroococcidiopsis sp., a rock-inhabiting microorganism found in sandstone from the Negev Desert, to study how life might survive on the Moon. Find out why.

Posted on December 10, 2020April 1, 2021 by Ruth Estefany Quispe Pilco 43 views

Another study testing the limits of life in space, this time on the moon! #moon #lifeinspace #humanspaceflight #NASA #cyanobacteria #astrobiology

What underwater volcanoes can teach us about Saturn’s moon Studying underwater volcanoes called "hydrothermal vents" at the bottom of the ocean taught us that the hydrogen down there probably isn't a primary food source for life in this extreme environment.

Posted on December 3, 2020April 1, 2021 by Serhat Sevgen 22 views

How can we study far away plants using Earth environments? By looking at the bottom of the ocean! #hydrogen #hydrothermalvents #astrobiology

Is there life on Venus? An international team of researchers claim that a molecule called phosphine is a potential marker for life, and also happens to be in the atmosphere of Venus, according to their measurements. Other scientists are re-analyzing the results.

Posted on December 2, 2020April 1, 2021 by Nurbanu Erölmez 63 views

In September, a research group broke the internet when they said they discovered a molecule called phosphine in the atmosphere of Venus. We'll try to break it down. #phosphine #venus #venuscloudlife

Is humanity ready to live in space? To live in space, we will need inter-generational cooperation to pull it off, and perhaps a sense of altruism for the future. We may be up to the technical challenge, but what about the sociopolitical challenges?

Posted on December 1, 2020April 1, 2021 by Andrew Bieler 19 views

This article explores incentives for projects spanning millennia, and determines which of those incentives would provide the most successful approach.