Cell walls are a crucial structure of plant life, protecting cells from damage, giving plants shape, and containing energy-rich nutrients. And yet the process of how the walls begin to […]
Washington State University
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Plant Biology, Press Release
How Proteins Crucial To Photosynthesis On Earth Are Arranged
Research led by scientists at Washington State University has revealed insights on how plants form a microscopic landscape of proteins crucial to photosynthesis, the basis of Earth’s food and energy […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Jupiter, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Radiation, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Study Suggests A Pathway For Life-sustaining Conditions In Europa’s Ocean
A recent study by geophysicists at Washington State University offers insight into how nutrients may reach the subsurface ocean of Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons and a leading candidate for […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Space Agriculture
Genes Identified That Allow Bacteria To Thrive Despite Toxic Heavy Metal In Soil
Some soil bacteria can acquire sets of genes that enable them to pump the heavy metal nickel out of their systems, a study has found. This enables the bacteria to […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release
Some Planets May Be Better For Life Than Earth
Earth is not necessarily the best planet in the universe. Researchers have identified two dozen planets outside our solar system that may have conditions more suitable for life than our […]
Posted inMars, Press Release
Organic Molecules Discovered By Curiosity Rover Consistent With Early Life On Mars
Organic compounds called thiophenes are found on Earth in coal, crude oil and oddly enough, in white truffles, the mushroom beloved by epicureans and wild pigs. Thiophenes were also recently […]
Posted inMoon
Possibility Of Life Very Early In The Moon's History
While the Moon is uninhabitable today, there could have been life on its surface in the distant past. In fact, there may have been two early windows of habitability for […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Saturn, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Building An Alien Ocean To Test Space Submarines
Building a submarine gets tricky when the temperature drops to -300 Fahrenheit and the ocean is made of methane and ethane.
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Press Release
What Is The Possibility of Complex Life Existing Elsewhere?
If the origin of life is common on other worlds, the universe should be a cosmic zoo full of complex multicellular organisms. Dirk Schulze-Makuch, a Washington State University astrobiologist, uses […]
Posted inMars, Planetary Protection & Biosafety
Sterilized Mars Spacecraft Largely a Waste of Money
Writing in the journal Nature Geoscience, astrobiologists Alberto Fairen of Cornell University and Dirk Schulze-Makuch of Washington State University say the NASA Office of Planetary Protection’s “detailed and expensive” efforts […]