https://phys.org/space-news/astrobiology en-us Astrobiology news stories about origin and evolution of life in the Universe While life on Earth is relatively new, geologically speaking, the ingredients that combined to form it might be much older than once thought. According to research published in ACS Central Science, the simplest amino acid, carbamic acid, could have formed alongside stars or planets within interstellar ices. The findings could be used to train deep space instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope to search for prebiotic molecules in distant, star-forming regions of the universe. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-blocks-life-stars-planets.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Wed, 29 Nov 2023 09:52:04 EST news620473922 Scientists from the Planetary Science Institute have uncovered evidence of potential salt glaciers on Mercury, opening a new frontier in astrobiology by revealing a volatile environment that might echo habitability conditions found in Earth's extreme locales. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-unveiling-mercury-geological-mysteries-salt.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Fri, 17 Nov 2023 12:48:37 EST news619447714 How did the molecular building blocks for life end up on Earth? One long-standing theory is that they could have been delivered by comets. Now, researchers from the University of Cambridge have shown how comets could deposit similar building blocks to other planets in the galaxy. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-comets-blocks-life-exoplanets.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Tue, 14 Nov 2023 19:00:01 EST news619178354 Professor Amri Wandel, from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has unveiled research that promises to redefine our comprehension of habitable exoplanets. In a recent study published in The Astronomical Journal, Professor Wandel introduces the concept of subglacial liquid water as a pivotal element in broadening the boundaries of the conventional habitable zone. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-subglacial-classical-habitable-zone-exoplanets.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Thu, 09 Nov 2023 10:45:51 EST news618749149 Extraterrestrial mining and metal processing are key strategies for space exploration. In a new study in Scientific Reports, Rodolfo Marin Rivera, and a team of scientists in materials science, conducted catalytic dissolution of metals from meteorite proxies of metal-rich asteroids by using a deep eutectic solvent. These solvents are important for extraterrestrial mining since they can be designed to have relatively low vapor pressures and can comprise organic waste products from extraterrestrial settlements. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-asteroids-method-metals.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Tue, 31 Oct 2023 10:20:01 EDT news617966108 Scientists have observed the creation of rare chemical elements in the second-brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen—casting new light on how heavy elements are made. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-second-brightest-gamma-ray-elements-life.html Astronomy Astrobiology Wed, 25 Oct 2023 11:00:02 EDT news617447650 The astrophysicists, from Trinity and the Breakthrough Listen team and Onsala Space Observatory in Sweden, are scanning the universe for "technosignatures" emanating from distant planets that would provide support for the existence of intelligent, alien life. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-astrophysicists-scan-galaxy-life.html Astronomy Astrobiology Tue, 24 Oct 2023 13:06:35 EDT news617371589 New analysis of data from the Curiosity rover reveals that much of the craters on Mars today could have once been habitable rivers. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-curiosity-rover-evidence-ancient-mars.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Tue, 24 Oct 2023 09:54:27 EDT news617360065 The universe is more than 13 billion years old and space is often depicted as a vast, empty vacuum. Other than planets and stars, there's nothing there, right? Actually, space is littered with complex, carbon-based molecules. However, the range of molecules and the chemistry involved in their formation remains largely mysterious. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-simulating-space-explore-great-mystery.html Astrobiology Tue, 24 Oct 2023 09:20:04 EDT news617358001 In a new study published in The Astronomical Journal, researchers used the known population of exoplanets and extrapolated to the much larger, unknown population of exoplanets to set better thresholds for planetary effects on signals from ETIs (extraterrestrial intelligences). https://phys.org/news/2023-10-exoplanet-informed-clearer-bounds-radio-technosignatures.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 23 Oct 2023 12:47:04 EDT news617284022 A landmark discovery by a collaborative team led by the Planetary Science Institute's Alexis Rodriguez has unveiled evidence of sedimentary plains created by aquifer drainage within Martian collapse formations termed chaotic terrains. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-biosignatures-ancient-mars-mud-lake.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Wed, 18 Oct 2023 10:29:03 EDT news616843741 One of the most exciting findings from NASA's Dawn mission is that Ceres, the largest object in the asteroid belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter, hosts complex organics. The discovery of aliphatic molecules, which consist of carbon and hydrogen chains, in conjunction with evidence that Ceres has abundant water ice and may have been an ocean world, means this dwarf planet might have once harbored the main ingredients associated with life as we know it. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-hypervelocity-impact-probe-dwarf-planet.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 16 Oct 2023 12:07:46 EDT news616676863 A small team of biologists, environmental scientists and chemists at Queen Mary University of London, U.K., has found via modeling, that it might be possible for different types of plants to grow on Earth-like rocky planets. In their paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the group describes how they modeled photosynthetic antenna, taking into account possible scenarios on planets in other star systems and the results of their experiments. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-photosynthetic-antenna-earth-like-rocky-planets.html Astrobiology Tue, 03 Oct 2023 10:20:04 EDT news615546949 Magnetotactic bacteria can form magnetofossils like magnetic nanocrystals as observed in the Martian meteorite ALH84001, which held a special place in the field of astrobiology primarily in the early 90s. While the flourishing of interest in magnetotactic bacteria has waned over time, a resurgence of magnetosome formation has led to a renaissance of magnetotactic bacteria (abbreviated as MTB) in astrobiology. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-renaissance-magnetotactic-bacteria-astrobiology.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 02 Oct 2023 09:50:01 EDT news615458522 To safeguard Earth's biosphere, scientists have turned toward Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the hope that it may help to protect biodiversity. Yet this hope has been challenged by AI's appetite for water and energy rooted in AI's need for big data, iterative computations and algorithmic perfection. For example, during its learning phases, GPT-3 consumes energy at a scale approaching hundreds of megawatt-hours. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-biotechnospheres-planetary-intelligence-extraterrestrial-civilizations.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Wed, 27 Sep 2023 11:40:01 EDT news615029739 Gigatons of greenhouse gas are trapped under the seafloor, and that's a good thing. Around the coasts of the continents, where slopes sink down into the sea, tiny cages of ice trap methane gas, preventing it from escaping and bubbling up into the atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-seafloor-space-bacterial-proteins-climate.html Astrobiology Tue, 26 Sep 2023 12:13:04 EDT news614949181 Scientists have discovered a simple and reliable test for signs of past or present life on other planets—"the holy grail of astrobiology." https://phys.org/news/2023-09-life-mars-planets-ai.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 25 Sep 2023 15:00:01 EDT news614852481 Space scientists have discovered a new process to test for life on Mars and on Earth, using cutting-edge technology to sequence DNA using the tiniest possible sample of DNA mass. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-scientists-life-mars.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 25 Sep 2023 11:45:39 EDT news614861135 The first use of a novel method of analyzing Mars' gravitational force supports the idea that the planet once had an extensive northern ocean. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-mars-gravity-analysis-ancient-ocean.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Wed, 20 Sep 2023 12:51:03 EDT news614433061 Life on a faraway planet—if it's out there—might not look anything like life on Earth. But there are only so many chemical ingredients in the universe's pantry, and only so many ways to mix them. A team led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has exploited those limitations to write a cookbook of hundreds of chemical recipes with the potential to give rise to life. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-recipes-life-distant-inhabited-planets.html Astrobiology Tue, 19 Sep 2023 12:41:28 EDT news614346085 A large team of scientists with a wide variety of backgrounds has joined together to suggest that a data-driven approach to search for life elsewhere in the universe should replace methods now in use. In their paper posted on the arXiv preprint server, the group explains how a data-driven approach could help prevent human-centered biases from overlooking potential signs of life. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-scientists-data-driven-approach-life-planets.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Thu, 14 Sep 2023 11:50:01 EDT news613905816 Uncovering the organic (carbon-based) chemistry in interstellar space is central to understanding the chemistry of the universe in addition to the origin of life on Earth and the possibilities for life elsewhere. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-carbon-atoms-diffuse-interstellar-ice.html Astronomy Astrobiology Thu, 14 Sep 2023 11:00:02 EDT news613907893 In the past few decades, several phenomena have led to excited speculation in the scientific community that they might indeed be indications that there is extraterrestrial life. It will no doubt happen again. https://phys.org/news/2023-09-youve-alien-life.html Astrobiology Tue, 12 Sep 2023 14:21:05 EDT news613747261 An international team of astrophysicists, astronomers and chemists has found evidence of carbonic acid (HOCOOH) in interstellar space, marking the first time it has been detected in such a setting. In their paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, the group describes their discovery, where it was found, and what it might mean for research into the origins of life. https://phys.org/news/2023-08-evidence-carbonic-acid-interstellar-space.html Astronomy Astrobiology Wed, 23 Aug 2023 11:30:01 EDT news612002536 As the next generation of giant, high-powered observatories begin to come online, a new study suggests that their instruments may offer scientists an unparalleled opportunity to discern what weather may be like on far-away exoplanets. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-cosmic-weather-worlds-life.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:55:17 EDT news609688513 Scientists have devised a new technique for finding and vetting possible radio signals from other civilizations in our galaxy—a major advance in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) that will significantly boost confidence in any future detection of alien life. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-spoofed.html Astronomy Astrobiology Mon, 17 Jul 2023 14:47:04 EDT news608824021 A new study featuring data from the NASA Mars Perseverance rover reports on an instrumental detection potentially consistent with organic molecules on the Martian surface, hinting toward past habitability of the Red Planet. The research, led by a team of scientists that includes UF astrobiologist Amy Williams, was recently published in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-reveals-evidence-diverse-material-mars.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Thu, 13 Jul 2023 13:25:04 EDT news608473501 A new analysis shows that there are probably many more Earth-like exoplanets with liquid water than had been thought, significantly increasing the chance of finding life. The work finds that even where the conditions are not ideal for liquid water to exist at the surface of a planet, many stars will harbor geological conditions suitable for liquid water under the planet's surface. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-probability-worlds-fold.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 10 Jul 2023 18:00:25 EDT news608198158 Avi Loeb, a physicist from Harvard University in the US, has recovered 50 tiny spherical iron fragments from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean that he claims may be material from an interstellar alien spaceship. https://phys.org/news/2023-07-physicist-spherical-meteor-fragments-alien.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 10 Jul 2023 12:52:30 EDT news608212344 A study led by Brown University researchers offers new insights into how water from melting ice could have played a recent role in the formation of ravine-like channels that cut down the sides of impact craters on Mars. https://phys.org/news/2023-06-gullies-mars-periods-liquid-meltwater.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Thu, 29 Jun 2023 14:00:02 EDT news607252305