Category: By Scientists

Future telescopes could search for alien farms Simulations suggest that the light observed from a distant planet around another star might be able to show evidence of ammonia and nitrous oxide in the air from large-scale farming if the population were large enough.

Posted on April 12, 2022April 26, 2022 by Jacob Haqq Misra 266 views

Simulations suggest that the light observed from a distant planet around another star might be able to show evidence of ammonia and nitrous…

Deep-ocean rocks mimic early Mars A red clay rock formation of the Central Indian Ocean basin was examined as a possible replica of what Mars was like millions of years ago. Because these rocks host microbial life, they can be used to study types of life that could exist on Mars.

Posted on October 14, 2021April 19, 2022 by Anindita Das 547 views

It’s no secret that humans have their eyes on the Red Planet. Since the surface of Mars is really different from Earth, a lot of…

What the velociraptor’s brain tells us about its diet Velociraptor was not just a speedy hunter capable of running down food. Its diet was also flexible.

Posted on April 30, 2021April 30, 2021 by Logan King 872 views

The brain of one of popular culture’s most infamous dinosaurs helps to clarify its diet and hearing range.

A new way to detect ET life using chemical profiles Rather than detecting one chemical at a time, scientists taught machine learning algorithms what different mixtures of compounds from living and non-living sources “look like” to chemical analyzers. The computer then used those fingerprints to correctly identify living and non-living samples in the lab!

Posted on April 26, 2021April 26, 2021 by Jim Cleaves 1k views

Researchers found a new way to tell the difference between the chemicals of life and the chemicals of non-life...using machine learning!

Fungi may be able to help clean up polluted water A few species of fungi were tested for their ability to clean up wastewaters contaminated with selenium. With additional nutrients added, it mostly worked. The fungi Alternaria showed great potential for cleaning up water polluted with selenite.

Posted on November 24, 2020April 1, 2021 by Mary Sabuda 691 views

Human activities such as coal mining and processing can cause high levels of selenium contamination, which can be harmful to human health.…

microgreens in dirt

Disease-causing bacteria can grow on hydroponic microgreen mats Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes are two bacteria that can make you sick when eating contaminated produce. It turns out, some microgreen grow mats might be a breeding ground for these bacteria.

Posted on July 2, 2020April 7, 2021 by Gina Misra 1k views

Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes are two diarrhea-causing bacteria that can make you sick when eating contaminated produce. It…

Muscles lost in our primate ancestors still appear in humans A review of previous anatomy studies found that some “ancient” muscles that are normally present in other primate species may be more common in humans than previously thought

Posted on June 15, 2020February 14, 2022 by Eve K. Boyle 521 views

A review of previous anatomy studies found that some “ancient” muscles that are normally present in other primate species may be more…

What can microbes teach us about life in extreme environments? Microbes living in an extreme environment hosted by a rock called serpentinite use a variety of sulfur compounds to gain energy and survive, which has implications for life that might exist elsewhere in our Universe.

Posted on May 13, 2020April 7, 2021 by Mary Sabuda 201 views

Microbes on Earth have adapted to survive in some pretty extreme locations. The extreme dryness of deserts, high salinity in salt deposits,…

Fungi influence the recovery of pollutants in the environment Researchers found a hidden selenium cycle tied to manganese oxide minerals made by common soil fungi.

Posted on May 11, 2020April 7, 2021 by Mary Sabuda 211 views

Researchers found a hidden selenium cycle tied to manganese oxide minerals made by common soil fungi.

Believe it or not, we can (kind of) measure the air pressure of early Earth! Blue-green algae's response to different nitrogen pressures may tell us what fossils to look for and what those fossils tell us about ancient air pressure.

Posted on February 13, 2019April 6, 2021 by SanjoySom 131 views

Blue-green algae's response to different nitrogen pressures may tell us what fossils to look for and what those fossils tell us about…

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