A crater lake on Mars was racked by ancient flash floods
One picture from the surface of Mars can tell us an entire story about the history and formation of that place. Often, the similarities and…
Category: Astrobiology
Ancient bacteria leave behind fossils, too!
Scientists used genetic technology to identify the different roles of bacteria present in ancient fossil formations called stromatolites.
Salt pools can guide our search for life on other planets
Pink, green, and square-shaped microbes can help us understand the limits of life on Earth and guide our search for life outside the planet.
Bacteria found with superpowers that let them survive in space
Scientists who study how humans might travel through space found a handful of specific genes that give bacteria some cool superpowers.
A detailed look at a rare meteorite
A carbonaceous meteorite that fell in Costa Rica holds organic compounds that are preserved from the earliest stages of our solar system,…
Microbes that eat iron are a cause of bedrock erosion
Are microscopic mineral-eating microbes breaking down our mountains? They may be behind bedrock erosion.
How can we search for life as we don’t know it?
It's hard to look for signs of life beyond Earth. It's a little easier if we assume that life out there is like Earth life. But what if it…
Researchers propose making concrete with human bodily fluids
Imagine what it would be like to be an astronaut landing on Mars for the first time. The red planet has little more than dust and rocks as…
Mars could host a deep underground biosphere
Scientists estimate that parts of Mars’ would be able to support up to one million microbes per kilogram of rock deep underground.
Deep-ocean rocks mimic early Mars
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…