Ice and fire: Antarctic volcano may hold clues to life on Mars

On Deception Island in Antarctica, steam rises from the beaches, and glaciers dot the black slopes of what is actually an active volcano—a rare clash of ice and fire that provides clues to scientists about what life could ...

Could the blueprint for life have been generated in asteroids?

Using new analyses, scientists have just found the last two of the five informational units of DNA and RNA that had yet to be discovered in samples from meteorites. While it is unlikely that DNA could be formed in a meteorite, ...

Japan aims to bring back soil samples from Mars moon by 2029

Japan's space agency plans to bring soil samples back from the Mars region ahead of the U.S. and Chinese missions now operating on Mars, in hopes of finding clues to the planet's origin and traces of possible life.

US probe to touch down on asteroid Bennu on October 20

After a four-year journey, NASA's robotic spacecraft OSIRIS-REx will descend to asteroid Bennu's boulder-strewn surface on October 20, touching down for a few seconds to collect rock and dust samples, the agency said Thursday.

Ocean water samples yield treasure trove of RNA virus data

Ocean water samples collected around the world have yielded a treasure trove of new data about RNA viruses, expanding ecological research possibilities and reshaping our understanding of how these small but significant submicroscopic ...

The paradox of big data spoils vaccination surveys

When Delphi-Facebook and the U.S. Census Bureau provided near-real time estimates of COVID-19 vaccine uptake last spring, their weekly surveys drew on responses from as many as 250,000 people.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover takes selfie with 'Mont Mercou'

At the start of March, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover began approaching an impressive rock formation that scientists dubbed "Mont Mercou," a nickname taken from a mountain in France. Standing about 20 feet (6 meters) tall, the ...

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