How biology writes its signature
In recent decades the search for extraterrestrial life has seen major advancements in technology and methodology. The search for…
Tag: astrobiology
How does life handle the harshness of space?
Experiments on the International Space Station found that lichens, a combination of algae and fungi, survived in space-like, flight, and…
Bacteria from the Black Sea Have an Unusual Diet
Many organisms live by breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide, and those that don’t often live by taking in carbon dioxide…
We can learn about life on other planets by studying viruses
Scientists from the University of Zurich and the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, as well as the Icahn School of Medicine at…
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…
“Hulk”-like microorganisms in soil can survive high levels of gamma radiation
In the Marvel Universe, Bruce Banner exposed his body to high doses of gamma radiation during an experiment in his lab. The gamma radiation…
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…