"Is the Disclosure Project real? The group is headed up by Steven M. Greer, MD. "
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Jill Tarter Receives TED Prize
Please join in congratulating Jill Tarter, Director of the SETI Institute’s Center for SETI Research, and holder of the Bernard M. Oliver Chair for SETI, for her award of the prestigious TED Prize. The TED Prize, an initiative of the TED Conference, is awarded annually and grants three extraordinary individuals a wish to change the world, one hundred thousand dollars, and support in making the wish come true. Jill and the other two recipients, undersea exploration pioneer Sylvia Earle and economist, musician, and social reformer Maestro and Dr. Jose Antonio...
November 25, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Carbon Dioxide Discovered on Extrasolar Planet
The discovery of CO2 in the atmosphere of extrasolar planet HD 189733b was announced this week in Nature News. The exoplanet is a hot Jupiter orbiting a star 63 light years from Earth. While it’s extremely unlikely that this particular planet supports life as we know it, the ability to measure the presence of CO2 in its atmosphere bolsters the search for life outside the Solar System. Giovanna Tinetti, former NAI Postdoctoral Fellow, is lead author in the study which used the NICMOS instrument onboard the Hubble Space...
November 25, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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New NAI Team at RPI Launches New York Center for Astrobiology
In January, NAI will welcome ten new teams, one of which is at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. Today, a gala event was held at RPI to launch their New York Center for Astrobiology, led by RPI Professor Doug Whittet. The opening ceremonies were highlighted by Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer and professor of physics, and Paul Tonko, United States Congressman-Elect of New York.
Based within the School of Science at Rensselaer, the New York Center for Astrobiology is devoted to investigating the origins of life...
November 24, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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NASA's Astrobiology Origins
Ten years ago, a new NASA program dedicated to the science of Astrobiology was born. Dan Goldin, former NASA administrator, and Baruch Blumberg, the original director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI), discuss the history of the NAI and recount how this unique, multi-disciplinary science came to be. The NAI has continued to grow since its creation, expanding its involvement in new types of research. This year, as NAI celebrates an important decade of scientific discovery, the program has awarded ten new grants toSource: [Astrobiology Magazine]
November 24, 2008 / Written by: Leslie Mullen
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Astrobiology Curriculum Pilot Kicks-Off Maine STEM Initiative
The pilot-test of a NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)-supported curriculum entitled Astrobiology: An Integrated Science Approach helped kick-off the State of Maine’s new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Initiative. This initiative was the subject of a press conference given this week by Maine’s Governor, The Honorable John E. Baldacci.
The curriculum was developed with significant input from the NAI Team at NASA Ames Research Center led by Dave Des Marais, who spoke at the press conference. Much of the team’s research in astrobiology is captured in the curriculum.
Providing ninth grade students an...
November 19, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Comet Dust Reveals Unexpected Mixing of Solar System Material
Researchers from NAI’s University of Wisconsin, Madison Team are also involved the analysis of comet samples returned from NASA’s Stardust mission.
A new analysis of dust from the comet Wild 2, collected in 2004 by Stardust, has revealed an oxygen isotope signature that suggests an unexpected mingling of rocky material between the center and edges of the solar system. Wisconsin Astrobiololgy Research Consortium (WARC) researchers and their collaborators analyzed oxygen isotopes in crystals of olivine and pyroxene from the comet’s halo. These samples, which reached Earth in early...
Source: [Link]
October 24, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Miller-Urey Revisited
Members of NAI’s Carnegie Institution of Washington, Indiana University, and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Teams and their colleagues have revisited the Miller-Urey experiments, and found some surprising results.
A classic experiment proving amino acids are created when inorganic molecules are exposed to electricity isn’t the whole story, it turns out. The 1953 Miller-Urey Synthesis had two sibling studies, neither of which was published. Vials containing the products from those experiments were recently recovered and reanalyzed using modern technology. The results are reported in this week’s Science.
One of the unpublished experiments by...
Source: [Indiana University Press Release]
October 16, 2008 / Written by: David Bricker
- Extreme Science on Earth's Highest Lakes
- New NAI Team at RPI Launches New York Center for Astrobiology
- 1/12 FAR Seminar: Habitability
- New Astrobiology Careers Section Added to NAI Website
- Recently Published Research from the NAI
- NAI - Nordic Summer School: “Water, Ice and the Origin of Life in the Universe”
- AbGradCon 2009
- 2009 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program in Astrobiology
- NASA Ames Academy for Space Exploration
- Student Opportunities at NASA Centers
- ROSES-08 Amendment 33: Additional Proposal Opportunity for ROSES Education and Public Outreach Supplemental Awards
- ROSES-08 Amendment 32: Final text for Moon and Mars Analog Mission Activities (MMAMA)
- Senior Staff Scientist Position at the Lunar and Planetary Institute
- Solar-Extrasolar Meeting to be held as NASA Ames Research Center
- Scientific Problem-Solving Benefits from Open Collaboration
December 19, 2008 
