Collagen, a protein found in bones and connective tissue, has been found in dinosaur fossils as old as 195 million years. That far exceeds the normal half-life of the peptide […]
MIT
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Rocks from Mars’ Jezero Crater, Which Likely Predate Life On Earth, Contain Signs Of Water
In a new study appearing today in the journal AGU Advances, scientists at MIT and NASA report that seven rock samples collected along the “fan front” of Mars’ Jezero Crater […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Titan’s Lakes May Be Shaped By Waves
Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, is the only other planetary body in the solar system that currently hosts active rivers, lakes, and seas. These otherworldly river systems are thought to be […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Press Release
Astronomers Spot WASP-193b – A Giant Planet As Light As Cotton Candy
Astronomers at MIT, the University of Liège in Belgium, and elsewhere have discovered a huge, fluffy oddball of a planet orbiting a distant star in our Milky Way galaxy. The […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Astrochemistry Discovery: 2-methoxyethanol Has Been Detected In Interstellar Space
New research from the group of MIT Professor Brett McGuire has revealed the presence of a previously unknown molecule in space. The team’s open-access paper, “Rotational Spectrum and First Interstellar […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs
Study Determines The Original Orientations Of Rocks Drilled By Mars Perseverance Astrobiology Rover
As it trundles around an ancient lakebed on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover is assembling a one-of-a-kind rock collection. The car-sized explorer is methodically drilling into the Red Planet’s surface and […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, TRAPPIST-1, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Carbon-lite Atmosphere Could Be A Sign Of Water And Life On Other Terrestrial Planets
Scientists at MIT, the University of Birmingham, and elsewhere say that astronomers’ best chance of finding liquid water, and even life on other planets, is to look for the absence, […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ancestors Of Prochlorococcus Microbes Rode Out To Sea On Exoskeleton Particles
Throughout the ocean, billions upon billions of plant-like microbes make up an invisible floating forest. As they drift, the tiny organisms use sunlight to suck up carbon dioxide from the […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Self-Assembling Proteins Can Store Cellular “Memories”
As cells perform their everyday functions, they turn on a variety of genes and cellular pathways.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Earth Can Regulate Its Own Temperature Over Millennia
The Earth’s climate has undergone some big changes, from global volcanism to planet-cooling ice ages and dramatic shifts in solar radiation. And yet life, for the last 3.7 billion years, […]