[University of Chicago] In the search for extraterrestrial life, it makes sense to first look for rocky planets with an atmosphere, like Earth. Without an atmosphere, a planet can’t have […]
University of Chicago
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Press Release
Revising Our Understanding Of The Most Common Planets In Our Galaxy
As telescopes have become more powerful, it’s turned out our solar system is not the only game in town: There are millions of other planets out there in the galaxy.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Press Release
Was Mars Doomed To Be A Desert? Study Proposes A New Explanation
One of the great unsolved problems in modern planetary science is written on the surface of Mars.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
How Does Life Rebound From Mass Extinctions?
If you’re an animal living through a mass extinction, it’s best to be one that’s found a unique way to make a living.
![Rapid coalescence and RNA exchange between unstable protocells. (A) Schematic of preparation of coacervate model protocells. Aqueous solutions of PDDA (positively charged) and ATP (negatively charged) are mixed, along with fluorescently labeled protein or oligonucleotide molecules, to make fluorescently distinct protocell populations. (B and C) Confocal micrographs showing the coalescence of unstable protocells during mixing. Fluorescently distinct PDDA-ATP droplet populations containing fluorophore-labeled BSA or RNA were mixed, and the images were collected after 5 min. Coalescence is evident from the overlapping of red [CF488-BSA in (B) or Cy2-RNA-6nt in (C)] and blue (CF640-BSA) fluorescence in a majority of the droplets. Scale bars, 25 μm. (D and E) Confocal micrographs and the accompanying FRAP plot showing a fast (timescale of a few minutes) recovery of fluorescence from Cy2-labeled RNA of (D) 6 nt in length and (E) 49 nt in length in the photobleached droplets, suggesting a rapid exchange of RNA molecules between protocells. The fluorescence microscopy images are false colored for clarity. Scale bars, 25 μm. -- Science / UChicago](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/New-Research-Suggests-Rainwater.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
New Research Suggests Rainwater Helped Form The First Protocell Walls
One of the major unanswered questions about the origin of life is how droplets of RNA floating around the primordial soup turned into the membrane-protected packets of life we call […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Away Team Finds A 17-pound Meteorite In Antarctica
Antarctica is a tough place to work, for obvious reasons— it’s bitterly cold, remote, and wild. However, it’s one of the best places in the world to hunt for meteorites.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Water Worlds Are More Common Than We Thought
Water is the one thing all life on Earth needs, and the cycle of rain to river to ocean to rain is an essential part of what keeps our planet’s […]
Posted inMars
Icy Clouds Could Have Kept Early Mars Warm Enough For Rivers And Lakes
One of the great mysteries of modern space science is neatly summed up by the view from NASA’s Perseverance, which just landed on Mars: Today it’s a desert planet, and […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Simulations Identify Missing Link To Determine Carbon In Deep Earth Reservoirs
Understanding the Earth’s carbon cycle has important implications for understanding climate change and the health of biospheres. But scientists don’t yet understand how much carbon lies deep in the Earth’s […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Water Worlds Could Support Life
The conditions for life surviving on planets entirely covered in water are more fluid than previously thought, opening up the possibility that water worlds could be habitable, according to a […]