"Assuming we knew where to look, would we be able to detect incidental radio transmissions (Radio Television) from an alien planet."
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NAI Announces 2008 Director's Discretionary Fund Awards
The NASA Astrobiology Institute is pleased to announce the selection of 18 proposals for support through the 2008 NAI Director’s Discretionary Fund. These awards allocate more than $1.4M toward strategic investments that advance the science of astrobiology, demonstrate impact to NASA’s space flight programs or its broader science activities, and/or contribute to NASA’s role as a federal R&D agency.
July 17, 2008 / Posted by: Marco Boldt
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NAI Scientist Receives Guggenheim Fellowship
James Farquhar from NAI’s Carnegie Institution of Washington Team is a recipient of the prestigious 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship. The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowships are extremely competitive and are given to advanced professionals in many fields. Please join NAI in congratulating James!!!
With the support of his Guggenheim Fellowship, James will be taking sabbatical leave to work with Don Canfield (University of Southern Denmark). Farquhar and Canfield will be extending their research on understanding the ways that...
June 25, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Extraterrestrial Nucleobases in the Murchison Meteorite
A recent study in Earth and Planetary Science Letters from NAI’s Teams at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Carnegie Institution of Washington, and University of Wisconsin, shows that nucleic acids of extraterrestrial origin are present in the Murchison meteorite. Carbon-rich meteorites such as the Murchison are thought to be responsible for delivering biologically-relevant organic material to the young Earth. These results demonstrate that the nucleic acids discovered in the...
June 25, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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NAI Twitters and Tweets
Do you Tweet? If so, then you’ll be happy to know that you can now follow an @AstrobiologyNAI Twitter stream. If you don’t have any idea what the first two sentences in this article are about, keep reading! They refer to a micro-blogging tool called “Twitter,” an increasingly popular, instant-messaging service that is quickly becoming the place where news breaks first, outpacing mainstream media. Individual blog entries in Twitter are called “Tweets,” and are limited to 140 characters, based on...
June 25, 2008 / Written by: Wendy Dolci
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NAI Ames Team Scientists Receive Honors
Three of our distinguished colleagues have just become even more so! Please join NAI in congratulating Dave Des Marais, Jack Lissauer, and Lou Allamandola on their continued achievements!
David Des Marais has been elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in recognition of his contributions to biogeochemistry and astrobiology. This designation (election as Fellow) is conferred upon not more than 0.1 percent of all AGU members in any given year. The recently-elected fellows will be...
June 4, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Astrobiologist Discusses Her Highly Cited Work in Astrochemistry
An analysis of publications in astrochemistry by Science Watch reveals that the work of astrobiologist Pascale Ehrenfreund of George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute is highly cited in other publications. It ranks at #5 by total cites, #6 by papers, and #5 by cites per paper. Her record in this analysis includes 20 papers cited a total of 445 times. Three of these papers are on the list of the 20 most-cited...
June 4, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Seafloor Microbes Abundant and Thriving....An Alternative Cradle for Life?
Researchers from NAI’s Marine Biological Laboratory Team continue their study of the deep biosphere, reporting the latest results in this week’s Nature. This new study reveals that bacterial communities dwelling on ocean-bottom rocks are more abundant and diverse than previously thought, especially relative to the overlying water column. The microbes appear to “feed” on the oceanic crust through seawater–rock alteration reactions...
May 28, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
- 9/29 NAI Director's Seminar: Norm Sleep, "Habitability of Superearths"
- ROSES-08 Amendment 23: New proposal opportunity for MOST U.S. Guest Observer Program - Cycle 1
- Stand Alone Mission of Opportunity Notice (SALMON) Announcement of Opportunity (AO); to include Astrobiology and Fundamental Space Biology
- Recently Published Research from the NAI
- NAI/NASA Postdoctoral Program application deadline November 1, 2008
- Carl Sagan Postdoctoral Fellowships in Exoplanet Exploration
- Planetary Protection: Policies and Practices - Oct. 7-9, 2008
September 4, 2008 
