Spacecraft microbes “sleep” to survive sterilization
Researchers discovered a bacterium in NASA’s spacecraft assembly facilities that can enter a hibernation state to survive planetary…
Category: What might life look like elsewhere in the Universe?
What might life look like elsewhere in the Universe? How do we search for life?
Lava tubes contain unknown “microbial dark matter”
Researchers discovered lava tubes on Mauna Loa containing previously unknown microorganisms with metabolisms and communities that could…
Scientists observe a changing exoplanet orbit
Astronomers conducted a multifaceted study of the exoplanet TrES-1 b and found that its orbit is shifting, possibly due to an unseen…
Could cells form in Venus’s clouds?
Astrobiologists demonstrated that cell membrane structures can form in high concentrations of sulfuric acid similar to the clouds of Venus.
Stellar flares could masquerade as life on exoplanets
Astronomers tested whether energy bursts from stars could artificially elevate typical “biosignature” gases on exoplanets.
The lifecycle of a steam world
Scientists studied exoplanets with high water contents and found that they initially have outer vapor layers, which then cool and shrink…
Hot spring rocks could help find life on Mars
NASA researchers found that the shape of rocks near hot springs influences the preservation of chemical fossils that could be detectable on…
Machine learning helps find other Earths
Astronomers used an algorithm on stars with known exoplanets to identify 44 systems with potential Earth-like planets, 8 of which they…
How did Venus’s Ishtar highlands form?
Researchers modeled tectonic and magmatic processes on Venus. They determined that its highlands formed when molten rock rose, melting its…
What’s a Super-Earth made of?
Astronomers observed a super-Earth with properties requiring surface water or a steam atmosphere. It challenges the paradigm that rocky…