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Astrobiology news
'Microlightning' in water droplets may have sparked life on Earth
Life may not have begun with a dramatic lightning strike into the ocean but from many smaller "microlightning" exchanges among water droplets from crashing waterfalls or breaking waves.
Astrobiology
Mar 14, 2025
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116
Signs of alien life may be hiding in these gases
Scientists have identified a promising new way to detect life on faraway planets, hinging on worlds that look nothing like Earth and gases rarely considered in the search for extraterrestrials.
Astrobiology
Mar 13, 2025
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Violent supernovae 'triggered at least two Earth extinctions,' study suggests
At least two mass extinction events in Earth's history were likely caused by the "devastating" effects of nearby supernova explosions, a new study suggests.
Astrobiology
Mar 13, 2025
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Astronauts prepare for International Space Station launch; biomedical, materials, physical sciences work planned
Four crew members will embark on a new long-duration science expedition when they launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft as part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission. ...
Space Exploration
Mar 12, 2025
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How humans can reinvent themselves to live on other worlds
Let's face it: Space is a hostile environment for humans. Even on Mars, settlers might have a hard time coping with potentially lethal levels of radiation, scarce resources and reduced gravity.
Space Exploration
Mar 10, 2025
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New Mars life detection method strengthens sample return safety protocols
Within the next decade, space agencies plan to bring samples of rock from Mars to Earth for study. Of concern is the possibility these samples contain life, which could have unforeseen consequences. Therefore, researchers ...
Astrobiology
Mar 6, 2025
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Unburied treasure: Rover researchers find unexpected minerals on Mars that hint at possibility of ancient life
Sometimes scientists must dig and work and sweat to make scientific discoveries. And sometimes a robot rolls over a rock that turns out to be a revelation.
Astrobiology
Mar 5, 2025
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135
Can surface fractures on Earth, Mars, and Europa predict habitability on other planets?
When a mudflat crumbles on Earth, or an ice sheet splinters on one of Jupiter's moons (Europa), or an ancient lakebed breaks on Mars, do these fractures follow a hidden geometric script? Could similar patterns on another ...
Astrobiology
Mar 5, 2025
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Water might be older than we first thought, forming a key constituent of the first galaxies
Water may have first formed 100–200 million years after the Big Bang, according to a modeling paper published in Nature Astronomy. The authors suggest that the formation of water may have occurred in the universe earlier ...
Astronomy
Mar 3, 2025
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235
Webb exposes complex atmosphere of starless super-Jupiter
An international team of researchers has discovered that previously observed variations in brightness of a free-floating planetary-mass object known as SIMP 0136 must be the result of a complex combination of atmospheric ...
Astrobiology
Mar 3, 2025
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128
Mars time machine: Researchers create virtual model to decode red planet's climate evolution
Researchers are creating advanced simulations that will provide a deeper understanding of Mars's climatic history and help to determine whether it was once able to sustain life.
Astrobiology
Feb 28, 2025
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How did life develop on early Earth? New source of nitrogen discovered
Living organisms need nitrogen as a central building block for protein formation, for example. However, although our atmosphere contains plenty of nitrogen, neither humans nor the vast majority of plants can absorb it directly ...
Astrobiology
Feb 27, 2025
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Geysers on Saturn's icy moon Enceladus may form from a 'mushy zone'
Searching for life on other celestial bodies, or at the very least the necessary components to support it, has been fascinating scientists and enthusiasts for centuries. While planets are the obvious choice, their moons can ...
Mission concept proposes sampling Enceladus's subsurface ocean
How can we explore Saturn's moon, Enceladus, to include its surface and subsurface ocean, with the goal of potentially discovering life as we know it? This is what a recent study presented at the American Geophysical Union ...
Astrobiology
Feb 25, 2025
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Laser-powered device tested on Earth could help detect microbial fossils on Mars
The first life on Earth formed four billion years ago, as microbes living in pools and seas: what if the same thing happened on Mars? If it did, how would we prove it? Scientists hoping to identify fossil evidence of ancient ...
Astrobiology
Feb 25, 2025
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Ancient beaches testify to long-ago ocean on Mars
A Chinese rover that landed on Mars in 2021 detected evidence of underground beach deposits in an area thought to have once been the site of an ancient sea, providing further evidence that the planet long ago had a large ...
Astrobiology
Feb 24, 2025
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If you're going to call aliens, use this number
Let's dive into one of those cosmic curiosities that's bound to blow your mind: how we might chat with aliens. And no, I'm not talking about elaborate coded messages or flashy signals. We're talking about something incredibly ...
Astronomy
Feb 24, 2025
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Sulfur may be a new tool for finding alien life
Astronomers have identified sulfur as a potentially crucial indicator in narrowing the search for life on other planets. While sulfur itself is not necessarily an indication of habitability, significant concentrations of ...
Astrobiology
Feb 19, 2025
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Life on Mars? It probably looks like something you'd find in your stomach
We often forget how wonderful it is that life exists, and what a special and unique phenomenon it is. As far as we know, ours is the only planet capable of supporting life, and it seems to have arisen in the form of something ...
Astrobiology
Feb 19, 2025
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Cosmic radiation from supernova altered virus evolution in Africa, study suggests
Isolated by mountains along the East African Rift is Lake Tanganyika. More than 400 miles long, it is the continent's deepest lake and accounts for 16% of the world's available freshwater. Between 2 and 3 million years ago, ...
Astrobiology
Feb 19, 2025
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More news
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How a twin Earth could detect Earth
Other news
Why does nature love spirals? The link to entropy
Boosting the response speed of quantum LEDs via an excitation memory effect
Crew launch to ISS paves way for 'stranded' astronauts' return
Melanosome patterns in Mesozoic mammals suggest they had dark, uniformly dull fur coloring
Physicists use optical vortex beams to control atom ionization
Tapuy rice wine fermentation yields possible anti-aging superfood
How well could Earth life survive on exoplanets?
