Bacteria protect each other in space!
Space is a dangerous place. Astronauts are wrapped up in layers of protection that regulate pressure, temperature, and oxygen. This…
Category: Astrobiology & Space Science
Can life hiding near Yellowstone National Park’s hot springs tell us about the ancient Earth?
Yellowstone National Park is famous for its hot springs, geysers, wildlife, and incredible geology. While the area is popular among visitors…
Are the building blocks of life at the bottom of the sea?
Scientists recreated a deep-ocean environment where underwater volcanoes spew heat and chemicals to test whether or not biological molecules…
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…
Hunting for fossilized microbes
We’ve all heard of hunting for fossils to learn about the Earth’s past, but what if you wanted to learn about the microbes that lived…
A crater on Mars may be a future landing site
Here on Earth, scientists study layers of sediment like dirt and sand to better understand how rocks form. The same contextual clues…
What happens if we send signals into space?
For over a hundred years, humans on Earth have been using radio transmissions to communicate with each other. This ability to communicate…
Detecting Distant Planet Atmospheres From Afar
Humans have always been fascinated with the vastness of the universe and its hidden truths. For ages we have tried to explore and study the…
Using Gas Bubbles in Lava to Predict Ancient Air Pressure
What was the weather like in New York last week? You can look it up on weather.com. What was it like on March 7, 1953, in the pre-internet…
Lasers and Fool’s Gold Give a Glimpse Into Our Ocean’s Past
The amount of trace elements in ocean pyrite correspond to ocean oxygen concentrations at different points in geologic time.