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 ...
Great news from Saturn's moon Enceladus in the search for life in space
What are the chances of finding extraterrestrial life in our solar system? Frank Postberg, a professor of planetary science at Freie Universität Berlin, has published a study in Science Advances with an international team ...
Astrobiology
Sep 25, 2026
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Early Mars rocks reveal at least three separate water episodes
When NASA's Perseverance rover reached the inner edge of Mars' Jezero Crater in September 2023, mission scientists were surprised by what they found. The geologic area, called the "Margin Unit," stretches along the shoreline ...
Astrobiology
Sep 21, 2026
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Asteroid Ryugu's dust reveals nitrogen's slow concentration into complex molecules
Nitrogen is a key ingredient in the biomolecules that form the building blocks of life. Yet as an unbonded gas, it is far more likely to drift into space than to lock itself into solid compounds, making it difficult for astronomers ...
More than 120 molecular species found in giant cloud near Milky Way's center
Astronomers have discovered a second interstellar cloud near the center of the Milky Way that is extraordinarily rich in complex molecules, including several molecules associated with prebiotic chemistry. The newly studied ...
ALMA uncovers sulfur for the first time around a rare class of supergiant star
Astronomers have discovered a chemically rich collection of sulfur-bearing molecules surrounding the rare massive star HD 87643. The observations include the first detection of sulfur monoxide and sulfur dioxide around a ...
