Humanity is on the threshold of being able to detect signs of alien life on other worlds. By studying exoplanet atmospheres, we can look for gases like oxygen and methane that only coexist if replenished by life. But those ...
Astronomy
Jul 23, 2014
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(Phys.org) —On Earth, life leaves telltale signals in the atmosphere. Photosynthesis is ultimately responsible for the high oxygen levels and the thick ozone layer. Microbes emit methane and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere, ...
Astronomy
Sep 10, 2013
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Planet hunters keep finding distant worlds that bear a resemblance to Earth. Some of the thousands of exoplanet candidates discovered to date have similar sizes or temperatures. Others possess rocky surfaces and support atmospheres. ...
Astronomy
Sep 3, 2013
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(Phys.org) —Scientists as eminent as Stephen Hawking and Carl Sagan have long believed that humans will one day colonise the universe. But how easy would it be, why would we want to, and why haven't we seen any evidence ...
Astronomy
Aug 26, 2013
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A new study that calculates the influence of cloud behavior on climate doubles the number of potentially habitable planets orbiting red dwarfs, the most common type of stars in the universe. This finding means that in the ...
Astronomy
Jul 1, 2013
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Photosynthesis—the harvesting of sunlight to produce energy—is the ultimate driver of virtually all life on the surface of our planet. Most photosynthetic creatures rely on optical light, the kind we see, to energize ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 7, 2013
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(Phys.org) —For decades, ecologists have assumed the worst invasive species—such as brown tree snakes and kudzu—have an "away-field advantage." They succeed because they do better in their new territories than they ...
Ecology
May 20, 2013
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(AP)—Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are helping search for evidence of alien life not by looking into outer space, but by studying some rocks right here on Earth.
Space Exploration
Feb 13, 2013
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During the space age, 1961 was a special year: the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit Earth, while the American astronomer Frank Drake developed the now famous Drake Equation. This equation estimates ...
Astronomy
Dec 3, 2012
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Hairspray might one day serve as the sign that aliens have reshaped distant worlds, researchers say. Such research to find signs of alien technology is now open to funding from the public.
Astronomy
Nov 22, 2012
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