Publications

This section contains a selected list of science publications from across the Astrobiology Program. A comprehensive list of NAI publications is maintained in the Annual Report section of the NAI website.

Peer-reviewed journal articles

This list of publications relating to astrobiology is provided for informational purposes. It is selective rather than comprehensive.

Astrobiology Journal

(Some articles in Astrobiology are available free online; see the journal’s web site for availability.)

Adam, Zachary. Actinides and life’s origins. Astrobiology 7(6), pp. 852-872, 2007.

Beegle, L.W., et al. A Concept for NASA’s Mars 2016 Astrobiology
Field Laboratory. Astrobiology 7(4), 2007.

Cockell, C.S., et al. Interplanetary Transfer of Photosynthesis: An Experimental Demonstration of a Selective Dispersal Filter in Planetary Island Biogeography, Astrobiology 7(1), 2007.

Gilichinsky, D.A., et al. Microbial Populations in Antarctic Permafrost: Biodiversity, State, Age, and Implication for Astrobiology. _Astrobiology_7(2), 2007.

Glaser, R., Hodgen, B., Farrelly, D., and McKee, E. Adenine Synthesis in Interstellar Space: Mechanisms of Prebiotic Pyrimidine-Ring Formation of Monocyclic HCN-Pentamers. _Astrobiology_7(3), 2007.

Hoehler, Tori M., Amend, Jan P., and Shock, Everett L. A “follow the energy” approach for astrobiology. Astrobiology 7(6), pp. 819-823, 2007.

Sleep, Norman H. and Zoback, Mark D. Did earthquakes keep the early crust habitable? Astrobiology 7(6), pp. 1023-1032, 2007.

Science

Anbar, A.D., et al. A whiff of oxygen before the Great Oxidation Event? Science 317, pp. 1903-1906, 2007.

Banfield, J.F., et al. Aggregation-based crystal growth and microstructure development in natural iron oxyhydroxide biomineralization products. Science 289, pp. 751-754, 2000.

Catling, D.C., Zahnle, K.J., and McKay, C.P. Biogenic methane, hydrogen escape, and the irreversible oxidation of early Earth. Science 293, pp. 839-843, 2001.
Corliss, J.B., et al. Submarine thermal springs on the Galapagoes rift. Science 203, pp. 1073-1083, 1979.

Cronin, J.R. and Pizzarello, S. Enantiomeric excesses in meteoritic amino acids. _Science_275, pp. 951-955, 1997.

Hancyzyc, M.M., Fujikawa, S.M., and Szostak, J.W. Experimental models of primitive cellular compartments: encapsulation, growth, and division. _Science 302, pp. 618-622, 2003.

Heckman, D.S., et al. Molecular evidence for the early colonization of land by fungi and plants. Science 293, pp. 1129-1133, 2001.

Huey, R.B. and Ward, P.D. Hypoxia, global warming, and terrestrial late Permian extinctions. Science 308, pp. 398-401, 2005.

Lineweaver, C.H., Fenner, Y., and Gibson, B.K. The galactic habitable zone and the age distribution of complex life in the Milky Way. Science 303, pp. 59-62, 2004.

Malin, M.C. and Edgett, K.S. Evidence for persistent flow and aqueous sedimentation on early Mars. Science 302, pp. 1931-1934, 2003.

McKay, D.S., et al. Search for past life on Mars: possible relic biogenic activity in martian meteorite ALH84001. Science 273, pp. 924-930, 1996.

Nakamura-Messenger, K., et al. Organic globules in the Tagish Lake meteorite: remnants of the protosolar disk. Science 314, pp. 1439-1442, 2006.

Navarro-Gonzalez, R., et al. Mars-like soils in the Atacama Desert, Chile, and the dry limit of microbial life. Science 302, pp. 1018-1021, 2003.

Raymond, S.N., Mandell, A. M. and Sigurdsson, S. Exotic earths: forming habitable worlds with giant planet migration. _Science_313, pp. 1413-1416, 2006.

Sandford, S.A., et al. Organics captured from comet Wild 2 by the Stardust spacecraft, Science 314, pp. 720-724, 2006.

Sharma, A., et al. Microbial activity at gigapascal pressures. Science 295, pp. 1514-1516, 2002.

Weiss, B.P., et al. A low temperature transfer of ALH84001 from Mars to Earth. Science 290, pp. 791-795, 2000.

Xiong, J., et al. Molecular evidence for the early evolution of photosynthesis. Science 289, pp. 1724-1730, 2000.

Nature

Bullock, Mark. The flow and ebb of water, Nature 438, pp. 1087-1088, 2005: “Information is pouring in about Mars. These are thrilling times for those who are proposing – and challenging – ideas about the chemical evolution of the planet and its potential for having harboured life.”

Cuzzi, Jeff. The first movement, Nature 448, p. 1003, 2007: “How do large objects form from the dusty gas surrounding a young star? A simulation suggests that several familiar processes, among them gas turbulence and self-gravitation, might work together to get the job done.”

Fortney, Jonathan. The one that got away, Nature 449, pp. 147-148, 2007: “Hanging around a star that has passed through its red-giant phase doesn’t seem a likely place for a planet.
But one planet apparently managed to avoid being engulfed by its bloated star — might others, too?”

Goldenfeld, Nigel and Woese, Carl. Biology’s next revolution, Nature 445, p. 369, 2007: “The emerging picture of microbes as gene-swapping collectives demands a revision of such concepts as organism, species and evolution itself.”

Ohmoto, H., et al. Sulphur isotope evidence for an oxic Archaean atmosphere. Nature 442, pp. 908-911, 2006.

Pace, Norman R. Time for a change, Nature 441, p. 289, 2006: “Prokaryote: gene-sequence comparisons show the tree of life consists of bacteria, eukarya and archaea.
The use of the term ‘prokaryote’ fails to recognize that an idea about life’s origins has been proved wrong.”

Tinetti, G., et al. Water vapour in the atmosphere of a transiting extrasolar planet. Nature 448, pp. 169-171, 2007.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

Biddle, J.F., et al. Heterotrophic Archaea dominate sedimentary subsurface ecosystems off Peru. PNAS 103, 3846-3851, 2006.

Coughlin, Bridget. Searching for an alien haven in the heavens. PNAS 98, 796, 2001.

Dismukes, G.C., et al. The origin of atmospheric oxygen on Earth: the innovation of oxygenic photosynthesis. PNAS 98, 2170-2175, 2001.

Dworkin, J.P., et al. Self-assembling amphiphilic molecules: synthesis in simulated interstellar/precometary ices. PNAS 98, 815-819, 2001.

Eigenbrode, J.L. and Freeman, K.H. Late Archaean rise of aerobic microbial ecosystems. PNAS 103, 15759-15764, 2006.

Freund, Friedemann, Staple, Aaron, and Scoville, John. Organic protomolecule assembly in igneous minerals. PNAS 98, 2142-2147, 2001.

Kopp, R.E., et al. The Paleoproterozoic snowball Earth: a climate disaster triggered by the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis. PNAS 102, 11131-11136, 2005.

Kudryavtsev, A.B., et al. In situ laser-Raman imagery of Precambrian microscopic fossils. PNAS 98, 823-826, 2001.

Skelley, A.M., et al. Development and evaluation of a microdevice for amino acid biomarket detection and analysis on Mars. PNAS 102m 1041-1046, 2005.

Sogin, M.L., et al. Microbial diversity in the deep sea and the underexplored “rare biosphere”. PNAS 103, 12115-12120, 2006.

Summit, Melanie, and Baross, John A. A novel microbial habitat in the mid-ocean ridge subseafloor. PNAS 98, 2158-2163, 2001.

Pace, Norman R. The universal nature of biochemistry PNAS 98, 805-808, 2001.

Rummel, John D. Planetary protection in the time of astrobiology: protecting against biological contamination. PNAS 98, 2128-2131, 2001.

Tung, H.C., Bramall, N.E., and Price, P.B. Microbial origin of excess methane in glacial ice and implications for life on Mars. PNAS 102, 18292-18296, 2005.

Ziurys, Lucy M. The chemistry in circumstellar envelopes of evolved stars: following the origin of the elements to the origin of life. PNAS 103, 12274-12279, 2006.

Books

Planetary Habitability: The First New Science of the Renaissance

Astrobiology bibliography, NASA Headquarters Library, May 2006

The Astrobiology Primer: An Outline of General Knowledge – Version 1, 2006

Bennett, Jeffrey, Shostak, Seth, and Jakosky, Bruce. Life in the Universe. San Francisco: Addison Wesley, 2003.

Bertka, Connie, Roth, Nancy, and Shindell, Matthew. Workshop Report: Philosophical, Ethical, and Theological Implications of Astrobiology. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion, 2007.

Bova, Ben and Preiss, Byron (eds.). First Contact: The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. New York: NAL Books, 1990.

Castello, J.D. and Scott O. Rogers, S.O. Life in Ancient Ice. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005.

Chela Flores, J. The New Science of Astrobiology: From Genesis of the Living Cell to Evolution of Intelligent Behavior in the Universe (Cellular Origin, Life in Extreme Habitats and Astrobiology). Dordrecht, Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001.

Cockell, C.S., Koeberl, C., and Gilmour, I. (eds.). Biological Processes Associated with Impact Events. Berlin, New York: Springer, 2006.

Cockell, Charles S. Space On Earth: Saving Our World By Seeking Others. New York: MacMillan, 2006.

Cockell, Charles S. Impossible Extinction: Natural Catastrophes and the Supremacy of the Microbial World. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Darling, D. Life Everywhere: The Maverick Science of Astrobiology. Cambridge, UK; New York: Basic Books, 2001.

Dick, Steven J. and Strick, James E. The Living Universe: NASA and the Development of Astrobiology. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2004.

Ehrenfreund, P., et al, eds. Astrobiology: Future Perspectives (Astrophysics and Space Science Library). Dordrecht, Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2004.

Friend, Tim. The Third Domain: The Untold Story of Archaea and the Future of Biotechnology. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press, 2007.

Gargaud, M., et al, eds. Lectures in Astrobiology: Vol I (Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics). Berlin, New York: Springer, 2005.

Gilmour, I. and Sephton. M.A., eds. An Introduction to Astrobiology. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Grinspoon, David . Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life. New York: ECCO, 2003.

Hazen, Robert M. Genesis: The Scientific Quest for Life’s Origin. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press, 2005.

Horneck, G. and Baumstark-Khan, C., eds. Astrobiology: The Quest for the Conditions of Life (Physics and Astronomy Online Library). Berlin, New York: Springer, 2002.

Jakosky, Bruce M. Science, Society, and the Search for Life in the Universe. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2006.

Jakosky, Bruce M. The Search for Life on Other Planets. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Kargel, J.S. Mars – A Warmer, Wetter Planet. London, New York: Springer, 2004.

Lemonick, Michael D. Other Worlds: The Search for Life in the Universe. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.

Lunine, J.I. Astrobiology: a Multidisciplinary Approach. San Francisco: Pearson Addison Wesley, 2005.

Sullivan, Woodruff T. and Baross, John S. (Eds.). Planets and Life: The Emerging Science of Astrobiology. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Ulmschneider, P. Intelligent Life in the Universe: Principles and Requirements behind its Emergence (Advances in Astrobiology and Biogeophysics). New York: Springer-Verlag, 2003.

Ward, P.D. and Brownlee, D. The Life and Death of Planet Earth: How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of our World. New York: Times Books, 2003, 2002.