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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 ...

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.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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Astrobiology
Giant meteorite impact 3.26 billion years ago may have aided early life
Astrobiology
Could life exist below Mars ice? Study proposes possibilities
Astrobiology
Scientists use Allen Telescope Array to search for radio signals in the TRAPPIST-1 star system
Astrobiology
New instruments will study potential habitability of Jupiter's moon Europa
Astrobiology
How did the building blocks of life arrive on Earth? Zinc fingerprints in meteorites offer clues
Astrobiology
Mars analog stations investigate lichen biodiversity during simulated missions
Astrobiology
Ryugu sample analyses show asteroids may have delivered compounds needed to start life on Earth
Astrobiology
Astronomers use Webb to probe a 'steam world' in the constellation Pisces
Astrobiology
NASA is launching a major mission to look for habitable spots on Jupiter's moon Europa
Space Exploration
Investigating the possibility of using asteroid material to grow edible biomass for astronauts
Astrobiology
2-billion-year-old rock could help understand very early life on Earth and the hunt for evidence of life on Mars
Astrobiology
Investigating the statistical likelihood of triple star systems hosting exoplanets
Astrobiology
Another building block of life can handle Venus' sulfuric acid
Astrobiology
Can the 'hard steps' in the evolutionary history of human intelligence be recast with geological thresholds?
Astronomy
How a nearby supernova left its mark on Earth life
Astrobiology
How sweet is the Milky Way? Astrochemist is helping find out
Astrobiology
Potential indicators of life on other planets can be created in a lab
Astrobiology
Advanced civilizations will overheat their planets within 1,000 years, researchers suggest
Astrobiology
Those aren't Dyson spheres, they're HotDOGs
Astrobiology
Could stars hotter than the sun still support life?

Other news

General Physics
Extending classical black hole inequalities into the quantum realm
Plants & Animals
First successful test of wild minke whales reveals they have ultrasonic hearing
Analytical Chemistry
Sustainable method can electrosynthesize important chemical for synthetic rubber production
Archaeology
Healthy elbow room: Social distancing in Neolithic mega-settlements
Other
Saturday Citations: Sweaty, remarkable humans; ocean level rise projections; closeup of a star in another galaxy
Astronomy
2 million mph galaxy smash-up seen in unprecedented detail
Evolution
Gene regulation study reports surprising results: Extensive regions of DNA belong to multiple gene switches
Archaeology
Peaches spread across North America through Indigenous networks, radiocarbon dating and document analysis show
Archaeology
Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands
Biochemistry
Natural substance from edible cyanobacterium could combat skin aging by enhancing collagen
Molecular & Computational biology
'e-Drive': New gene drive reverses insecticide resistance in pests... then disappears
General Physics
Accessing the lesser known nucleon: New neutron measurement can help physicists learn about nucleon structure and spin
Analytical Chemistry
Exploring new liquid organic hydrogen carrier materials for a safer, more transportable energy source
Paleontology & Fossils
Fossil discovery reveals giant worm lizard with snail-cracking jaws
Planetary Sciences
Niagara fireball event leads to discovery of tiniest known asteroid
Condensed Matter
Discovery of van Hove singularities could lead to novel materials with desirable quantum properties
Optics & Photonics
Prototype lenses can block epileptic-seizure causing wavelengths
Biochemistry
Next-generation, nature-inspired sunscreens have a new molecular scaffold
Optics & Photonics
Improved ultrasound technique produces previously unattainable images inside live cells
Cell & Microbiology
New technique points to unexpected uses for snoRNA across many cell types

Exploring extremes in the search for life on Mars

People might assume the search for life on Mars ended when NASA's first rovers sent back images of the planet's barren, inhospitable surface. However, as scientists broaden their understanding of the extreme conditions in ...

Scientists help unravel life's cosmic beginnings

Knowledge about the early forms of life in the universe that may have led to the development of life on Earth remains largely unknown. However, a group of scientists at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa are attempting ...

Tracing the origins of organic matter in Martian sediments

Although Mars presents a barren, dusty landscape with no signs of life so far, its geological features such as deltas, lakebeds, and river valleys strongly suggest a past where water once flowed abundantly on its surface. ...

What deadly Venus can tell us about life on other worlds

Even though Venus and Earth are so-called sister planets, they're as different as heaven and hell. Earth is a natural paradise where life has persevered under its azure skies despite multiple mass extinctions. On the other ...

Astronomers are on the hunt for Dyson spheres

There's something poetic about humanity's attempt to detect other civilizations somewhere in the Milky Way's expanse. There's also something futile about it. But we're not going to stop. There's little doubt about that.

Looking for life on Enceladus: What questions should we ask?

Does life exist beyond Earth? One of the most compelling places to consider this possibility is Enceladus, a moon of Saturn with a liquid water ocean encased in a frozen shell. There, plumes of water spray from ice fractures ...