Finding Earth’s Twin: No Easy Task

NASA’s new Kepler mission is scheduled to launch in just a couple of days. Once in orbit, the powerful telescope will provide astrobiologists with the ability to search for rocky, Earth-like planets around distant stars. Ultimately, Kepler will help us determine if these potentially life-supporting worlds are common or rare in the Universe.

Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]

March 2, 2009 / Written by: Henry Bortman

Earthscope – Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Research

Earthscope – Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Research

From the NSF

The National Science Foundation has released updated information about the Division of Earth Science’s Earthscope program. The Division of Earth Sciences provides support for research concerning the Earth’s structure, evolution and interaction with the Earth’s biosphere. The Earthscope program is focused on opportunities for scientists concerned with the evolution of the continents and processes within the crust, mantle and lithosphere of Earth. The program is committed to supporting interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research, and is particularly interested in proposals in emerging fields.

Studying the processes behind plate tectonics on Earth is...

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Kepler's Search for "Alien Earths" Covered by CNN

NASA’s Kepler mission, which will search for Earth-like planets in our galaxy, launches next week. CNN.com has the full story, including a special video interview with the mission’s Principal Investigator, Bill Borucki.

February 25, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Evolution of the Modern Nitrogen Cycle

NAI’s Deep Time Drilling Project supported the drilling of several pristine cores from ancient rocks in Western Australia in 2004, and a new paper in this week’s Science, led by University of Washington astrobiologists, outlines results from the analysis of these cores. The nitrogen isotope values in the core from the 2.5-billion-year-old Mount McRae Shale vary over 30 meters, evidently recording a temporary change from an anaerobic to an aerobic nitrogen cycle, and back again to anaerobic. Other data suggest that nitrification occurred in response to a small increase in surface-ocean oxygenation. The...

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February 23, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Alien Safari Part 4: Countdown to Alien Life

At the most recent NASA Astrobiology Science Conference, a panel of scientists discussed different types of planets where we might find alien life. In part four of this series, the panelists discuss the time it will take for us to discover alien life in the universe.

Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]

February 23, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

Cycling Nitrogen

NASA-funded researchers at the University of Washington have shown that microorganisms completed large-scale steps in the their evolution by 2.5 billion years ago. This means that the major branches of microbial life were before we have any record of them. One important aspect of this evolution was the development of microbes capable of fixing nitrogen. This metabolic pathway had profound effects on the environment of Earth and the evolution of all life on our planet.

Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]

February 22, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

Unlocking the Combination

Researchers in the field of synthetic biology are still a long way away from being able to assemble living cells from raw materials. However, their research is now yielding important clues about the origin of life on Earth. By studying how molecules self-assemble, a team of scientists from UC Santa Cruz is shedding light on how the first protocells were able to capture energy and nutrients from the environment – ultimately allowing for growth and reproduction. The results of their research were recently presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in...

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Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]

February 18, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal