Atmospheric seasons could signal alien life
Dozens of potentially habitable planets have been discovered outside our solar system, and many more are awaiting detection.
Astronomy
May 9, 2018
8
312
News tagged with nasa astrobiology institute
Pond scum explains evolution of first animals
Microbial mats that existed on sea floors prior to the Cambrian explosion provided the foundation for early animal life to arise, new research looking at trace fossils of that early life has found.
Earth Sciences
Jan 8, 2018
0
743
Scientists find moon of Saturn has chemical that could form 'membranes'
NASA scientists have definitively detected the chemical acrylonitrile in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, a place that has long intrigued scientists investigating the chemical precursors of life.
Space Exploration
Jul 28, 2017
0
712
A simple bacteria reveals how stress drives evolution
A common bacteria is furthering evidence that evolution is not entirely a blind process, subject to random changes in the genes, but that environmental stressors can also play a role.
Evolution
Jul 20, 2017
0
45
A new Goldilocks for habitable planets
The search for habitable, alien worlds needs to make room for a second "Goldilocks," according to a Yale University researcher.
Astronomy
Aug 19, 2016
11
2361
Nitrogen may be a sign of habitability
We might commonly think of Earth as having an oxygen-dominated atmosphere, but in reality the molecule makes up only a fifth of our air. Most of what surrounds us is nitrogen, at 78 percent. Astrobiologists are beginning ...
Astronomy
Jan 13, 2016
2
64
Looking back 3.8 billion years into the root of the 'Tree of Life'
NASA-funded researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are tapping information found in the cells of all life on Earth, and using it to trace life's evolution. They have learned that life is a master stenographer ...
Evolution
Nov 30, 2015
34
977
Straight up, with a twist: New model derives homochirality from basic life requirements
Life is quirky. Although the molecules that make up all living things obey physical and chemical laws, they do so with a puzzling twist. How did the distinctive molecular features of life emerge, and what can they tell us ...
General Physics
Oct 13, 2015
12
778
Ancient rocks record first evidence for photosynthesis that made oxygen
A new study shows that iron-bearing rocks that formed at the ocean floor 3.2 billion years ago carry unmistakable evidence of oxygen. The only logical source for that oxygen is the earliest known example of photosynthesis ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 6, 2015
1
4135
'Bathtub rings' suggest Titan's dynamic seas
Saturn's moon, Titan, is the only object in the Solar System other than Earth known to have liquid on its surface. While most of the lakes are found around the poles, the dry regions near the equator contain signs of evaporated ...
Space Exploration
Jul 28, 2015
0
347
