Xenobiology, as a research area, investigates biological systems that differ fundamentally from known terrestrial life in their molecular composition, information carriers, or biochemical logic, aiming to define and experimentally explore alternative forms of life. It encompasses the design and study of organisms with expanded genetic alphabets, noncanonical nucleic acids or amino acids, alternative metabolic pathways, and orthogonal biological networks that do not cross-talk with natural biosystems. Xenobiology research informs the theoretical limits of life, biosafety through genetic firewalls, and the development of novel biotechnological platforms with tailored properties, while providing conceptual and experimental frameworks relevant to astrobiology and the characterization of life’s possible chemistries.
News stories about the likely existence of extraterrestrial life, and our chances of detecting it, tend to be positive. We are often told that we might discover it any time now. Finding life beyond Earth is "only a matter ...
Astrobiology
Jan 14, 2025
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Extraterrestrial and artificial life have long captivated the human mind. Knowing only the building blocks of our own biosphere, can we predict how life may exist on other planets? What factors will rein in the Frankensteinian ...
Astrobiology
Dec 24, 2024
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It seems that we are completely alone in the universe. But simple reasoning suggests that there should be an abundance of alien civilizations. Maybe they're all out there, but they are keeping their distance. Welcome to the ...
Astrobiology
Dec 18, 2024
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We have only one example of biology forming in the universe—life on Earth. But what if life can form in other ways? How do you look for alien life when you don't know what alien life might look like?
Astrobiology
Dec 9, 2024
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187
One of the most challenging aspects of astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is anticipating what life and extraterrestrial civilizations will look like. Invariably, we have only one example ...
Astrobiology
Nov 14, 2024
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Creating artificial life is a recurring theme in both science and popular literature, where it conjures images of creeping slime creatures with malevolent intentions, or super-cute designer pets. At the same time, the question ...
Bio & Medicine
Oct 5, 2023
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It sounds like the stuff of science fiction: a man-made crystal that can be attached to antibodies and then supercharge them with potent drugs or imaging agents that can seek out diseased cells with the highest precision, ...
Bio & Medicine
Dec 7, 2021
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