Manganese dioxide can convert amino acids into hydrogen cyanide (HCN) without requiring methane, a finding that solves a long-standing puzzle about the origin of this key prebiotic molecule on early Earth. Although HCN is ...
Astrobiology
Apr 30, 2026
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27
NASA's Curiosity rover has identified seven new organic compounds on the planet Mars, according to new research published in Nature Communications.
Astrobiology
Apr 23, 2026
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64
A team of astronomers led by Elisabeth Matthews at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA) has made a discovery that highlights the limits of most current models of exoplanet atmospheres: water-ice clouds on a distant ...
Astrobiology
Apr 22, 2026
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130
A team of scientists using the ChemCam instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has discovered the highest amounts of iron, manganese, and zinc ever found together in Gale Crater on Mars. Minerals with these metals were ...
Astrobiology
Apr 22, 2026
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69
The possibility of life on other planets is one of the biggest mysteries in science. But what would happen if we actually found it? Our scientists are preparing for this possibility by helping to develop a new system that ...
Astrobiology
Apr 20, 2026
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56
Scientists have long known that fungi are resilient, but a new study suggests that some strains might survive every step of the long, brutal trip to Mars. In a paper published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, researchers ...
Astrobiology
Apr 20, 2026
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27
Unfortunately for science fiction fans, desert worlds outside our solar system are unlikely to host life, according to new research from the University of Washington. Scientists show that an Earth-sized planet needs at least ...
Astrobiology
Apr 15, 2026
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93
A research team has developed a new approach to detecting life beyond Earth that does not rely on identifying specific biological markers. Instead, the study suggests that life may be detectable through patterns emerging ...
Astrobiology
Apr 15, 2026
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52
Caltech researchers have identified geological features on Mars that could point to the existence of a long-dried ocean that once covered a third of the Red Planet's surface. The research was conducted by former Caltech postdoctoral ...
Astrobiology
Apr 15, 2026
0
131
Scientists have found that young stellar cousins of our sun are calming down and dimming more quickly in their X-ray output than previously thought, according to a new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. A paper ...
Astrobiology
Apr 14, 2026
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