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Astrobiology news
NASA launches baby squid and water bears to the International Space Station
From worms to quail, the ISS has housed all kinds of creatures great and small over the years. Animal research in space is about to welcome some new members to the club.
Space Exploration
Jun 11, 2021
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Worms blast off into space for muscle loss mission
Thousands of tiny worms will be launched into space today (3 June) to help scientists to understand more about muscle loss and how to prevent it.
Space Exploration
Jun 03, 2021
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Small packages with big benefits aboard SpX-22
When the Falcon 9 rocket launches on June 3, it will be carrying thousands of pounds of cargo to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's 22nd commercial resupply services mission. Yet the last five items to be loaded ...
Space Exploration
Jun 03, 2021
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Europa's interior may be hot enough to fuel seafloor volcanoes
Jupiter's moon Europa has an icy crust covering a vast, global ocean. The rocky layer underneath may be hot enough to melt, leading to undersea volcanoes.
Space Exploration
May 26, 2021
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171
Prebiotic ethanolamine found in a molecular cloud near the center of the Milky Way
An international team of researchers has found evidence of prebiotic ethanolamine (NH2CH2CH2OH) in a molecular cloud near the center of the Milky Way galaxy. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy ...
Complex molecules could hold the secret to identifying alien life
A new system capable of identifying complex molecular signatures could aid in the search for alien life in the universe and could even lead to the creation of new forms of life in the laboratory, scientists say.
Astrobiology
May 24, 2021
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Research may help illuminate origins of life on Earth
One of the fundamental themes in astrobiology is to seek to ascertain the origin and distribution of life in the cosmos. As part of this, the field also deals with how life may be transferred from one planetary system to ...
Astrobiology
May 24, 2021
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Mushrooms on Mars? Five unproven claims that alien life exists
A recent study claims to have found evidence for mushroom-like life forms on the surface of Mars. As it happens, these particular features are well known and were discovered by cameras aboard Nasa's Mars Exploration Rover ...
Astrobiology
May 21, 2021
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When will the first baby be born in space?
When the first baby is born off-Earth, it will be a milestone as momentous as humanity's first steps out of Africa. Such a birth would mark the beginning of a multi–planet civilization for the human species.
Space Exploration
May 21, 2021
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Tardigrades survive impacts of up to 825 meters per second
A pair of researchers at the University of Kent has found that tardigrades are able to survive impacts at speeds of up to 825 meters per second. In their paper published in the journal Astrobiology, Alejandra Traspas and ...
Origins of life researchers develop a new ecological biosignature
When scientists hunt for life, they often look for biosignatures, chemicals or phenomena that indicate the existence of present or past life. Yet it isn't necessarily the case that the signs of life on Earth are signs of ...
Astrobiology
May 20, 2021
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60 years later, is it time to update the Drake equation?
On November 1, 1961, a number of prominent scientists converged on the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia, for a three-day conference. A year earlier, this facility had been the site of the ...
Space Exploration
May 17, 2021
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Extraterrestrial radioactive isotope found in seabed has implications for Earth's origins
The first-ever discovery of an extraterrestrial radioactive isotope on Earth has scientists rethinking the origins of the elements on our planet.
Astronomy
May 14, 2021
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Scientists find molecular patterns that may help identify extraterrestrial life
Scientists have begun the search for extraterrestrial life in the solar system in earnest, but such life may be subtly or profoundly different from Earth life, and methods based on detecting particular molecules as biosignatures ...
Astrobiology
May 13, 2021
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330
New model can predict carbon cycle presence on exoplanets
Life thrives at stable temperatures. On Earth, this is facilitated by the carbon cycle. Scientists at SRON, VU and RUG have now developed a model that predicts whether there is a carbon cycle present on exoplanets, provided ...
Astrobiology
May 03, 2021
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151
Meteorite amino acids derived from substrates more widely available in the early solar system
Scientists have recreated the reaction by which carbon isotopes made their way into different organic compounds, challenging the notion that organic compounds, such as amino acids, were formed by isotopically enriched substrates. ...
Astrobiology
Apr 29, 2021
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We could detect alien civilizations through their interstellar quantum communication
Since the mid-20th century, scientists have been looking for evidence of intelligent life beyond our solar system. For much of that time, scientists who are engaged in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) have ...
Astronomy
Apr 29, 2021
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Feeling confinement in the gut: Microbiome alterations common in astronauts
Crew members who took part in the Mars500 experiment showed significant changes in their gut microbiota from their 520 days in confinement, according to a new study by scientists at Université de Montreal and McGill University.
Space Exploration
Apr 23, 2021
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Mars has right ingredients for present-day microbial life beneath its surface, study finds
As NASA's Perseverance rover begins its search for ancient life on the surface of Mars, a new study suggests that the Martian subsurface might be a good place to look for possible present-day life on the Red Planet.
Astrobiology
Apr 22, 2021
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Researchers identify five double star systems potentially suitable for life
Almost half a century ago the creators of Star Wars imagined a life-sustaining planet, Tatooine, orbiting a pair of stars. Now, 44 years later, scientists have found new evidence that that five known systems with multiple ...
Astronomy
Apr 15, 2021
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More news
Probing for life in the icy crusts of ocean worlds
Is there life on Mars today and where?
Could there be life on Jupiter's moons?
Help is a long way away: The challenges of sending humans to Mars
Image: ISS Biolab facility
Life from Earth could temporarily survive on Mars
Other news
New material could remove respiratory droplets from air
Ozone pollution has increased in Antarctica
Centuries-old shipwrecks found off Singapore
Spacewalking astronauts boosting station's solar power
Researchers reveal the inner workings of a viral DNA-packaging motor
Graphene can be used to detect COVID-19 quickly, accurately
Can artificial intelligence open new doors for materials discovery?
Quantum-nonlocality at all speeds
Life as we do not know it: Astrobiology and the Mars 2020 mission
Landing on the origin of life
Has life existed beyond Earth?
Bruisable artificial skin could help prosthetics, robots sense injuries
Mitochondrial ribosome assembly in 3D
Honeybees show withdrawal symptoms when weaned off alcohol
