The Science Optical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are tiny microchip-size devices that control light and communications. Separately, time-resolved X-ray probes are devices that help scientists study highly transient phenomena. These phenomena […]
sensor
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
A New Test for Life on Other Planets
A simple chemistry method could vastly enhance how scientists search for signs of life on other planets. The test uses a liquid-based technique known as capillary electrophoresis to separate a […]
Posted inMissions & Hardware, Press Release
Colorful Life-Form Catalog Will Help Discern If We're Alone
While looking for life on planets beyond our own solar system, a group of international scientists has created a colorful catalog containing reflection signatures of Earth life forms that might […]
Posted inMissions & Hardware, Radiation
New Class of Biological Detectors for WIMPs
Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) may constitute a large fraction of the matter in the Universe. There are excess events in the data of DAMA/LIBRA, CoGeNT, CRESST-II, and recently CDMS-Si, […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Missions & Hardware
Cyborg Astrobiologist Uses Phone-Cam to Search for Life
A novel, hybrid part-human, part-machine visual system that uses a simple mobile phone camera has been developed to search for evidence of past or present life in planetary analogue sites […]