TRAPPIST planets bugged to listen in on alien radio comms

If aliens are watching Earth, they might be able to detect us from the radio signals we beam to Mars to control our rovers there. Astronomers have now listened in on the nearby TRAPPIST-1 system to check whether aliens are chattering between their own … Continue reading TRAPPIST planets bugged to listen in on alien radio comms

‘Habitable zone’ on Mars could be just right for life

Everybody from NASA to David Bowie has wondered if there’s life on Mars – and now we might have a precise place to look for it. A new Caltech study has shown that photosynthetic microbes could thrive in a small habitable zone beneath the ice.Continue R… Continue reading ‘Habitable zone’ on Mars could be just right for life

‘Habitable zone’ on Mars could be just right for life

Everybody from NASA to David Bowie has wondered if there’s life on Mars – and now we might have a precise place to look for it. A new Caltech study has shown that photosynthetic microbes could thrive in a small habitable zone beneath the ice.Continue R… Continue reading ‘Habitable zone’ on Mars could be just right for life

‘Habitable zone’ on Mars could be just right for life

Everybody from NASA to David Bowie has wondered if there’s life on Mars – and now we might have a precise place to look for it. A new Caltech study has shown that photosynthetic microbes could thrive in a small habitable zone beneath the ice.Continue R… Continue reading ‘Habitable zone’ on Mars could be just right for life

Isolated community of complex life may have existed 2 billion years ago

Scientists have discovered evidence that an isolated pocket of complex life may have evolved on Earth more than 2 billion years ago – only to go extinct and take another 1.5 billion years to evolve to that level again. The controversial find could rewr… Continue reading Isolated community of complex life may have existed 2 billion years ago

Giant swamp monster was a top predator before the dinosaurs

Long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, another giant predator claimed the top spot in its environment. Meet Gaiasia, a huge salamander-like creature that stalked the Permian swamps.Continue ReadingCategory: Biology, ScienceTags: Fossils, Amphibious, L… Continue reading Giant swamp monster was a top predator before the dinosaurs

Ancient crystals tell story of fresh water from four billion years ago

A new study of ancient detrital zircons from inland Australia has found the first evidence that the Earth has had fresh water and dry land four billion years ago, much longer than previously thought. In fact, 500 million years further back in time.Cont… Continue reading Ancient crystals tell story of fresh water from four billion years ago

Would we exist if Earth’s magnetic field hadn’t collapsed 500m years ago?

The Earth’s magnetic field is vital for life – without it, the Sun’s radiation would sterilize the planet. But a new study suggests we wouldn’t be here at all if that magnetic field hadn’t almost completely collapsed half a billion years ago.Continue R… Continue reading Would we exist if Earth’s magnetic field hadn’t collapsed 500m years ago?

Two lifeforms merge in once-in-a-billion-years evolutionary event

Scientists have caught a once-in-a-billion-years evolutionary event in progress, as two lifeforms have merged into one organism that boasts abilities its peers would envy. Last time this happened, Earth got plants.Continue ReadingCategory: Biology, Sci… Continue reading Two lifeforms merge in once-in-a-billion-years evolutionary event

Sulfuric acid clouds of Venus can’t dissolve life, new experiments find

Venus may be a hellscape by our standards, but there’s a chance that some forms of life could evolve there. A new MIT study has now found that the building blocks of life are surprisingly stable in highly concentrated sulfuric acid – which Venus’ cloud… Continue reading Sulfuric acid clouds of Venus can’t dissolve life, new experiments find