MetaFilter posts tagged with astrobiology

Greetings from the Red Planet

saulgoodman — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 08:04:53 -0800

NASA recently announced that the latest results from NASA's Curiosity Rover on Mars provide clear physical evidence that Mars once had all the conditions necessary to support life. Despite the skeptical reception given to recent news that the rover may also have found indirect evidence of organic compounds and active microbiological activity, other recent scientific results have gone even further. One Australian study from 2011 concluded, given what we know about Mars now, 3% of its total volume (as compared to 1% of Earth's) is likely habitable to known terrestrial lifeforms. And more recently, further analysis of the results of experiments performed by the 1976 Viking Lander mission suggests that we have likely detected active microbiological activity on Mars already, with one researcher going so far as to claim a 99% certainty that those earlier results detected life. (Previously).

"What's inexplicable to him is the ferocity of their conviction."

zarq — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 09:51:57 -0800

Dr. David Morrison is the senior scientist at NASA's Astrobiology Institute in the Ames Research Center in California. For the past eight years he's also run the Ask an Astrobiologist feature on the institute's website. "Started by a civic-minded intern, the column has become the go-to place for concerned citizens to write to NASA and ask if, as they'd heard on the internet, the world will truly end on December 21, 2012. Before he took the helm on Ask an Astrobiologist, Dr. Morrison hadn't heard anything about such theories. Now he can't escape them." Meet NASA's unofficial answerer of apocalypse emails -- at least until December 23rd. Videos with Dr. Morrison, from NASA Lunar Science on YouTube: * The Science of Doomsday 2012 * The Truth about Nibiru * The Truth About Comet Elenin * At ASP 2012 * The Truth about 2012 He has also created a special section on the "Ask an Astrobiologist" blog for doomsday questions.

there ain't no arsenic in them thar hills

IvoShandor — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:11:46 -0800

A strange bacterium found in California’s Mono Lake cannot replace the phosphorus in its DNA with arsenic, according to researchers who have been trying to reproduce the results of a controversial report published in Science in 2010. (Via Bad Astronomy.) Previously.

Other earths, circling different suns

Kattullus — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 11:21:11 -0800

The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog is a database of the planets outside our solar system which are considered the most suitable for life according to certain steps and metrics. So far 16 have been identified as possible candidates. This Guardian article is a good introduction. You can also just dive into the catalogue, which ranks planets on two main scales, similarity to Earth and surface habitability (note that all images are computer renderings). The catalog is a project of the Planetary Habitability Laboratory at University of Puerto Rico in Arecibo (home to the world's largest radiotelescope).

Building Blocks Of DNA Come From Space

homunculus — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:36:27 -0800

NASA Proves Building Blocks Of DNA Come From Space. "NASA researchers studying meteorites have found that they contain several of the components needed to make DNA on Earth. The discovery provides support for the idea that the building blocks for DNA were likely created in space, and carried to Earth on objects, like meteorites, that crashed into the planet’s surface. According to the theory, the ready-made DNA parts could have then assembled under Earth’s early conditions to create the first DNA."

In Soviet Russia Lake Vostock penetrates you

AElfwine Evenstar — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:35:46 -0800

Lake Vostok (previously) is about to be breached by a team of Russian scientists. The ice cores from Vostok Station have given us a continuous record of the earth's climate going back 420,000 years. Some scientists are worried that the breaching of the lake may lead to contamination. Lake Vostok is the closest terrestrial analogue to the ice covered moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Many astrobiologists believe that these Jovian and Saturnian moons harbor extremophiles. The lake has been sealed off from the outside world for 14 million years and will give scientists the first opportunity to study lifeforms living under similar conditions to what we may find on the subsurface oceans of Europa, Enceladus, and Ganymede. These oceans are made possible by tidal heating. Also in the Satunian system of moons is the rocky, atmosphere laden Titan; which some have claimed is a "a strict test for life’s cosmic ubiquity." There is also evidence of the exchange of ejecta, and other material, between the moons of Saturn which adds to the mounting evidence for panspermia. The red rain of Kerala (previously) and (previously) has also been put forward as evidence of cometary panspermia. All of this is leading some astrobiologist to suggest a cold origin of life. This cold origin of life could have also transpired on a snowball earth.

Let's try to avoid creating something with "molecular acid for blood," shall we?

zarq — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:36:16 -0800

Dmitar Sasselov is an astrophysicist, Director of the Origins of Life Initiative at Harvard and a co-investigator of the Kepler space telescope project to find Earth-like planets around the Cygnus constellation and discover extraterrestrial life. But no matter how successful the Kepler project may be, it still won't answer the most fundamental questions of astrobiology: How diverse is life in the universe? If alien life exists, will it have Earthly DNA and proteins? Or will it run on something else? So Dr. Sasselov has decided to collaborate with two synthetic biologists, asking them to create a life form based on mirror-image versions of what we know as the essential building blocks of living things on Earth. From the Wired Article: ...go to the synthetic biologists Jack Szostak and George Church. Ask them to create a life-form that runs on an operating system different from our own, based on mirror-image versions of earthly proteins and DNA. Let these alien cells grow and mutate, and see how they survive. If it worked, those new cells—Church called them “mirror life”—could answer one of the deepest questions about the origin of life, not just here on Earth but everywhere in the universe. They might also open up new avenues of discovery in materials science, fuel synthesis, and pharmaceutical research. On the down side, though, mirror life wouldn’t have any predators or diseases to limit its reproduction. They would have to keep an eye on that.
In July, Dr. Sasselov's TED talk (also linked above) was widely misinterpreted by the press. Kepler space telescope: previously on Metafilter. Also, this post is tangentially related.

I for one welcome our to be announced overlords...

Sprocket — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 21:09:54 -0800

“NASA will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. EST (11am PST) on Thursday, Dec. 2, to discuss an astrobiology finding that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life. Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.” Watch it HERE live. NASA Watch blog theorizes it is "Arsenic-based biochemistry" regarding "the implications for the origin of life on Earth, how it may have happened more than once on our planet, and the implications for life arising elsewhere in the universe." Noting that "NASA has not found life on any other world." Astrobiology Magazine goes a little further to discuss potential "Slime Worlds" Other theories are being spread that "they've discovered arsenic on Titan and maybe even detected chemical evidence of bacteria utilizing it for photosynthesis..." I myself am hoping for something supermassively larger, perhaps a planet eating sentient ala Galactus...

Enceladus

homunculus — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:52:15 -0800

Source Of Geysers On Saturn's Moon Enceladus May Be Underground Water. Earlier this year the Cassini spacecraft detected organic material in the geysers of Enceladus. The question now is, how's the fishing?

Some of the biggest questions/That's ever been asked/Do you know where life is going/Can you tell where it starts?

not_on_display — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 13:36:47 -0800

Assignment details: Discuss the following: We know that life exists on Earth, and has taken billions of years to evolve into the things we see today. But has this happened anywhere other than Earth? Well, to help sort out this headscratcher of a question, NASA has commissioned MC Oort Kuiper, aka Jonathan Chase, a grad student at the University of Glamorgan, to write a rap about it. "Astrobiology" appears in the European edition of Astrobiology Magazine.

The Color(s) Out of Space

Kronos_to_Earth — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:54:30 -0800

The hills of other earths might not be green...The Color(s) Out of Space. In order to work, I think the first link (slide show) requires Macromedia Flash to be enabled/installed.

Who Speaks for Earth?

homunculus — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 21:36:24 -0800

Who Speaks for Earth? "After decades of searching, scientists have found no trace of extraterrestrial intelligence. Now, some of them hope to make contact by broadcasting messages to the stars. Are we prepared for an answer?"

Life

homunculus — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 22:40:51 -0800

The Meaning of Life. "We create life, we search for it, we manipulate and revere it. Is it possible that we haven't yet defined the term (PDF)?" [Via The Loom.]

The Many Worlds of David Darling

blahblahblah — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 21:34:48 -0800

The Worlds of David Darling. British astronomer and science writer David Darling has written over 10,000 articles for three massive online efforts: the Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight, the Encyclopedia of Alternative Energy and Sustainable Living , and a related encyclopedia of concept vehicles. Though the diversity of entries can be eccentric, and some are quite short, the science seems solid: learn about the illicit corned beef sandwich of Gus Grissom, peruse a comprehensive set of advanced space propulsion concepts, and see a terrific illustrated listing of strange land and air vehicles (don't miss the Peel P50 microcar and the Volvo Gravity Car).

Alien planet

dhruva — Mon, 09 May 2005 22:41:07 -0800

Alien planet "The drama takes place on Darwin IV, a fictional planet 6.5 light-years from Earth, with two suns and 60 percent gravity. Having identified Darwin as a world that could support life, Earth sends a pilot mission consisting of the mothership and three probes." Discovery channel feature, Flash heavy site, via Pharyngula.

ad aspera per astra

ubersturm — Thu, 13 May 2004 05:11:14 -0800

Ad Aspera Per Astra - an interview with Brother Guy Consolmagno, one of several full-time Vatican astromomers at the Vatican Observatory. He talks about the Church's take on astrobiology and the eventuality of encountering an alien race. The idea of the Church's mission beyond the Earth is something that's come up in a few good books, like The Sparrow and A Canticle for Leibowitz. Interesting to hear an actual Jesuit's take on the matter. [Via BoingBoing]

Germs from Jupiter? Viruses from Venus?

carobe — Thu, 02 Aug 2001 12:02:04 -0800

Germs from Jupiter? Viruses from Venus? Nope, just live space-borne bacteria discovered floating around Earth. "Although the bugs from space are similar to bacteria on Earth, the scientists said the living cells found in samples of air from the edge of the planet's atmosphere are too far away to have come from Earth." (via waldo.net)

Water found on Jupiter moon

owillis — Sun, 17 Dec 2000 12:05:07 -0800

Water found on Jupiter moon "After months and months of wrestling with the data ... we believe there is very strong evidence of a layer of melted water beneath Ganymede's icy surface," said Margaret Kivelson, a space physicist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

MARSBUGS,

jhiggy — Fri, 10 Nov 2000 08:58:37 -0800

MARSBUGS, The Electronic Astrobiology Newsletter. Founded in 1994, e-mail subscriptions are free on request. The scholars (Dr. David J. Thomas, Math and Science Division, Lyon College, Batesville, AR, and Dr. Julian A. Hiscox, School of Animal and Microbial Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom) who edit this journal have kindly archived all issues online. Budding exobiologists, fire up your browsers.