Collaborate Disseminate
When looking for other planets that could be hosting life, astronomers tend to focus on those that are very Earth-like. But doing so might be limiting our scope too much and underselling life’s hardiness. A new study has used simulations to s… Continue reading Snowball planets may still have habitable hotspots
NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered a set of three worlds orbiting a peaceful star located a mere 73 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Pictor. The exoplanets, which are among the smallest and closes… Continue reading Exoplanet-hunting telescope discovers three new alien worlds with big scientific potential
The missing link of evolution is often thought of as a step between apes and humans, but the biggest gap lies between non-living matter and the earliest living cells. A new study has found a mechanism that may have helped droplets transition … Continue reading Chemists concoct polyester "cells" that may plug gaps in origins of life
Statistically, it’s pretty much a given that alien life is out there somewhere, whether that’s Martian microbes or highly intelligent life beaming comms through the cosmos. While the Curiosity rover is poking around in the dirt for the former… Continue reading Powerful new telescope joins the search for possible laser pulses from aliens
Modern Mars is a desolate husk of a planet, as far as life is concerned. But it’s not completely uninhabitable, since microbes could be hiding in the cracks of rocks and dirt. And now a new study has found a possible food source for these org… Continue reading Martian microbes may be snacking on space dust
The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa 2 has successfully pulled off a second touchdown on the surface of the distant asteroid Ryugu. The risky maneuver saw the probe dive down to collect material that had been exposed during the creation of an art… Continue reading Hayabusa 2 spacecraft survives second touchdown on asteroid Ryugu
How life arose from non-living material is one of the most profound mysteries facing science, and now a new study from the University College London (UCL) may have brought us a step closer to understanding it. The team may have solved a long-… Continue reading Scientists offer solution for chemical chicken-and-egg problem of the origins of life
The Earth is the only place we know for sure harbors life, but given how big the observable universe is, the odds that we’re completely alone are astronomical. It’s been suggested in the past that life could hitch a ride on asteroids or comet… Continue reading Harvard study suggests asteroids are likely seeding life throughout the galaxy
Researchers at Rutgers and Rice Universities have shed some light on the mystery of how life on Earth got started. After studying proteins that are key to metabolism in modern cells, the team reverse engineered a simplified protein that may h… Continue reading "Primordial" proteins successfully inserted into engineered E. coli in synthetic biology breakthrough
Evolution is usually a gradual process, but about half a billion years ago it took off at a gallop in an event that’s now known as the Cambrian Explosion. One of the leading theories is that this was thanks to a huge spike in oxygen levels, a… Continue reading How plate tectonics may have changed the climate and paved the way for complex life to evolve