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Astrobiology news
Oldest direct evidence of hot water activity on Mars found
New Curtin University-led research has uncovered what may be the oldest direct evidence of ancient hot water activity on Mars, revealing the planet may have been habitable at some point in its past.
Astrobiology
Nov 22, 2024
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Ryugu asteroid sample rapidly colonized by terrestrial life despite strict contamination control
Panspermia is the hypothesis that life can survive the transfer between planetary bodies as a secondary path for life to get started on planets throughout a solar system. The discovery of extraterrestrial life on asteroids ...
Origin of life research finds RNA can favor both left- and right-handed proteins
The mystery of why life uses molecules with specific orientations has deepened with a discovery that RNA—a key molecule thought to have potentially held the instructions for life before DNA emerged—can favor making the ...
Astrobiology
Nov 21, 2024
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Many physicists argue the universe is fine-tuned for life. Our findings question this idea
Physicists have long grappled with the question of why the universe was able to support the evolution of intelligent life. The values of the many forces and particles, represented by some 30 so-called fundamental constants, ...
Astrobiology
Nov 20, 2024
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Mars Curiosity rover takes a last look at mysterious sulfur
NASA's Curiosity rover is preparing for the next leg of its journey, a months-long trek to a formation called the boxwork, a set of weblike patterns on Mars's surface that stretches for miles. It will soon leave behind Gediz ...
Astrobiology
Nov 18, 2024
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Statistical approach improves models of atmosphere on early Earth and exoplanets
As energy from the sun reaches Earth, some solar radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere, leading to chemical reactions like the formation of ozone and the breakup of gas molecules. A new approach for modeling these reactions, ...
Astrobiology
Nov 18, 2024
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What's behind the Martian methane mystery?
The seasonal variations of methane in the Martian atmosphere is an intriguing clue that there might be life hiding under the surface of the red planet. But we won't know for sure until we go digging for it.
Astrobiology
Nov 18, 2024
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Volcanic caves research advances the search for life on Mars
Through the intricate study of lava tubes—caves formed following volcanic eruptions when lava cools down—an international team of researchers has uncovered clues about Earth's ancient environments that could be significant ...
Astrobiology
Nov 18, 2024
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New study examines how extraterrestrial civilizations could become 'stellivores'
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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A spider stellar engine could move binary stars halfway across a galaxy
Eventually, every stellar civilization will have to migrate to a different star. The habitable zone around all stars changes as they age. If long-lived technological civilizations are even plausible in our universe, migration ...
Space Exploration
Nov 13, 2024
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A formula for life? New model calculates chances of intelligent beings in our universe and beyond
The chances of intelligent life emerging in our universe—and in any hypothetical ones beyond it—can be estimated by a new theoretical model which has echoes of the famous Drake Equation.
Astronomy
Nov 12, 2024
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Spectral method can compute tidal effects on planet and moon interiors
Scientists have developed a new method to compute how tides affect the interiors of planets and moons. Importantly, the new study looks at the effects of body tides on objects that don't have a perfectly spherical interior ...
Astrobiology
Nov 7, 2024
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Examining how stellar threats impact the habitable zone of exoplanets
When we think of exoplanets that may be able to support life, we home in on the habitable zone. A habitable zone is a region around a star where planets receive enough stellar energy to have liquid surface water. It's a somewhat ...
Astrobiology
Nov 6, 2024
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How life began on Earth: Model suggests ancient Earth had organic-rich atmosphere
The key to unlocking the secrets of distant planets starts right here on Earth. Researchers at Tohoku University, the University of Tokyo, and Hokkaido University have developed a model that considers various atmospheric ...
Astrobiology
Oct 30, 2024
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Mars may have been habitable much more recently than thought
Evidence suggests Mars could very well have been teeming with life billions of years ago. Now cold, dry, and stripped of what was once a potentially protective magnetic field, the red planet is a kind of forensic scene for ...
Astrobiology
Oct 29, 2024
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Could life at TRAPPIST-1 survive the star's superflares?
The TRAPPIST-1 system is a science-fiction writer's dream. Seven Earth-sized worlds orbit a red dwarf star just 40 light-years away. Three of those worlds are within the habitable zone of the star. The system spans a distance ...
Astrobiology
Oct 28, 2024
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Here are some potentially habitable world targets for the upcoming LIFE mission
The odds are good that we are not alone in the universe. We have found thousands of exoplanets so far, and there are likely billions of potentially habitable planets in our galaxy alone. But finding evidence of extraterrestrial ...
Astrobiology
Oct 28, 2024
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Discovery of carbon-storing molecules in a distant interstellar cloud may shed light on how our own solar system formed
A team led by researchers at MIT has discovered that a distant interstellar cloud contains an abundance of pyrene, a type of large, carbon-containing molecule known as a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH).
Astrobiology
Oct 24, 2024
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Life can maintain a habitable environment in hostile conditions, research suggests
Everybody knows that for life to thrive on any world, you need water, warmth, and something to eat. It's like a habitability mantra. But, what other factors affect habitability? What if you relaxed the conditions conducive ...
Astrobiology
Oct 24, 2024
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Rocky planets orbiting small stars could have stable atmospheres needed to support life
Since its launch in late 2021, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has raised the possibility that we could detect signs of life on exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system.
Astrobiology
Oct 23, 2024
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More news
Those aren't Dyson spheres, they're HotDOGs
Could stars hotter than the sun still support life?
Other news
'e-Drive': New gene drive reverses insecticide resistance in pests... then disappears
Fossil discovery reveals giant worm lizard with snail-cracking jaws
Prototype lenses can block epileptic-seizure causing wavelengths
Niagara fireball event leads to discovery of tiniest known asteroid
Exoplanets could be hiding their atmospheres
Plants could still grow well under alien skies
Scientists scan TRAPPIST-1 for technosignatures
Keeping mold out of future space stations
New technique points to unexpected uses for snoRNA across many cell types
Scientists develop novel high-fidelity quantum computing gate
Nano-patterned copper oxide sensor provides rapid ultra-low hydrogen detection
