Researchers discovered computer-led chemical analysis of a sample is a powerful tool for searching for ET biochemistry without making assumptions about it.
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!
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…
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
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
Water has molded our planet into what it is today, in ways you may not have imagined! #water #waterislife
Can teachers get students in underrepresented, disadvantaged communities to feel excited about science if they get to participate in real NASA missions? Turns out, probably! #teaching #StemEd
Extremophiles can literally survive in many conditions, even in the extreme radiation of space. Read this article to learn how extremophiles help us understand the search for life in the universe.
How do scientists look for life in the universe? Usually they look for gasses that would support life, and assume anything toxic to us would be toxic to life. Perhaps that isn't true across the board.
One of the most fundamental building blocks of life on earth is DNA. This molecule consists of four base pairs and a negatively charged backbone that come together to form the double helix. If life existed elsewhere in the universe, would it use a different genetic information system? Recent work done by Hoshika and…