Image: From left, Soni Pradhanang and Dawn Cardace, associate professors of geosciences, and Serena Moseman-Valtierra, an associate professor of biological sciences. Over the next three years, three University of Rhode […]
biosignature
Posted inTricorders & Sensors
Spectropolarimetry Of Life: Airborne Measurements From A Hot Air Balloon
Does life exist outside our Solar System? A first step towards searching for life outside our Solar System is detecting life on Earth by using remote sensing applications. Does life […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Press Release
Sulfur Residue Mapped On Europa
A Southwest Research Institute-led team used the Hubble Space Telescope to observe Jupiter’s moon, Europa, at ultraviolet wavelengths, filling in a “gap” in the various wavelengths used to observe this […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
The Role of Atmospheric Exchange in False-Positive Biosignature Detection
Saturn’s Moon Titan receives volatiles into the top of its atmosphere-including atomic oxygen-sourced from cryovolcanoes on Enceladus. Similar types of atmosphere exchange from one body to another, such as O2 […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
An Integrative Analysis of the Rich Planetary System of the Nearby Star e Eridani: Ideal Targets For Exoplanet Imaging and Biosignature Searches
e Eridani, the fifth-closest Sun-like star, hosts at least three planets and could possibly harbor more. However, the veracity of the planet candidates in the system and its full planetary […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Disruption Of A Planetary Nitrogen Cycle As Evidence Of Extraterrestrial Agriculture
Agriculture is one of the oldest forms of technology on Earth. The cultivation of plants requires a terrestrial planet with active hydrological and carbon cycles and depends on the availability […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
The Case and Context for Atmospheric Methane as an Exoplanet Biosignature
Methane has been proposed as an exoplanet biosignature. Imminent observations with the James Webb Space Telescope may enable methane detections on potentially habitable exoplanets, so it is essential to assess […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Methane Could Be The First Detectable Indication Of Life Beyond Earth
If life is abundant in the universe, atmospheric methane may be the first sign of life beyond Earth detectable by astronomers. Although nonbiological processes can generate methane, a new study […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Starting Life And Searching For Life On Rocky Planets
The study of origins of life on Earth and the search for life on other planets are closely linked. Prebiotic chemical scenarios can help prioritize planets as targets for the […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Bacterial Evolution In Ancient Sub-seafloor Sediments
Micro-organisms persisting deep below the seafloor for millions of years continue to evolve despite living at the energy limit to life.