NASA will generate invaluable data on yeast’s response to deep space radiation by launching the BioSentinel satellite in 2021. Here’s how they’ll do it. It’s an exciting time to be interested in space. We’re in an era of scientific discovery that spans into deep space, which is past the Earth’s…
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…
The reality of being able to live and settle on Martian or lunar bases can seem like it is getting close. To do this, we need to be able to grow our own food there. This is a category of space agriculture called in-situ resource utilization, a fancy way of saying “using what is already there instead of bringing…
For the past few decades, scientists have been looking at planets outside of our solar system to see if they could host life. Now, scientists have discovered another factor for habitability: radiation from the planet’s central star.
Whether it is the acceptance of different passions, backgrounds, or even favorite movies, diversity matters. A group of ten researchers who noticed the positive correlation between motivation and academic success created the Ad Astra Academy to teach astrobiology abroad. They educated students from disadvantaged…
How and why humans exist are questions that have challenged different cultures ever since the dawn of civilization. Many scientists have taken upon their shoulders the duty of answering these fundamental questions, coming up with several especially creative ideas over the past few decades. One prominent idea is that…
Researchers found that more than half of the bacteria collected from stranded cetaceans in the Philippines showed antimicrobial resistance to commonly used drugs.
Scientists use computer models to simulate what oxygen would look like on far away planets and found a chemical signature that helps us tell the difference between oxygen from life and oxygen from other sources.
Altruism, in principle, is selfless action for the well-being of others. Altruism may help us achieve our space exploration goals. Space agencies like NASA, SpaceX, and ESA are funding new projects to commercialize asteroids, the Moon, and Mars. These projects could deliver economic as well as scientific benefits…
What should farmers do to deal with disappearing water? Add fungi to the soil! This recent study sheds light on the use of mycorrhizae to mitigate drought in the farming industry, which is facing increasingly intense water shortages every year.
