Life's first molecule: Borate boosts its formation, finds study
The transition from simple chemistry to the complex biology of molecules that gave rise to life is a puzzle that scientists have been trying to solve for ages.
Astrobiology news
A technosignature that could detect an extraterrestrial civilization's reliance on nuclear fusion
Extraterrestrial civilizations need a great deal of energy as they advance up the Kardashev scale. Fossil fuels are finite, wind and solar energy are carbon free but not as efficient as fossil fuels, and traditional nuclear ...
In the hunt for alien life, is man truly 'the measure of all things?'
Enrico Fermi's lunchtime question at wartime Los Alamos, "Where is everybody?" has been both a gift and a problem to scientists ever since. Known as "Fermi's Paradox," it simply asks, why, since life on Earth is ubiquitous ...
Microfluidics in space to detect extraterrestrial life signatures and monitor astronaut health
In a new report now published in npj Microgravity, Zachary Estlack and a research team in mechanical engineering and space sciences at the University of Utah and the University of California, Berkeley, developed a microfluidic ...
Can polarity-inverted membranes self-assemble on Saturn's moon Titan?
Astrobiologists are focused on resolving two central questions to understand the environmental and chemical limits of life. By understanding life's boundaries, they intend to identify possible biosignatures in exoplanet atmospheres ...
High nickel concentrations in Martian bedrock point to potential biosignatures
In 2024, NASA's Perseverance rover found surprising levels of Nickel in the Martian bedrock of an ancient river channel, called Neretva Vallis, which flowed into the Jezero crater. A new study, published in Nature Communications, ...
Human sperm may get lost in space
Having a baby in space may require a bit more direction, with new Adelaide University research revealing the navigational abilities of sperm are negatively impacted by a lack of gravity. Researchers at the University's Robinson ...
Space Exploration
Mar 26, 2026
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Moons orbiting wandering exoplanets could be habitable—with one catch
Provided they host thick, hydrogen-dominated atmospheres, moons orbiting free-floating exoplanets could retain much of the heat generated deep within their interiors by tidal forces. Led by David Dahlbüdding at the Max Planck ...
The discovery of a buried delta on Mars could boost the search for life
There's more evidence that water once flowed on Mars with the discovery of an ancient river delta deep below the surface. NASA's Perseverance rover found it more than 35 meters beneath Jezero Crater using ground-penetrating ...
Experiment challenges hypothesis of cell-like membranes on Titan
New experimental results have cast doubt on earlier proposals suggesting that spherical, cell-like membranes could form in the methane lakes of Saturn's largest moon. Through results published in Science Advances, Tuan Vu ...
