"Are there any living things in space? Why is it that everytime they show a footage of a ufo,the picture is blury? "
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Darwin in a Test Tube
Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have discovered a way to make molecules evolve and compete according to the laws of Darwinian evolution. Using RNA, the researchers were able to demonstrate that only the fittest molecules survived in the presence of a limited resource. When resources were plentiful, molecules would become increasingly specialized through generations of replication.
This fascinating work is helping astrobiologists better understand the processes that underlie evolution. Additionally, the results could shed some light on how primitive molecules on Earth first gave live to living organisms.
The work was funded through NASA’s Exobiology & Evolutionary Biology...Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
May 1, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal
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Reanimating Extinct Genes
Can evolution be played over again in the lab? A group of researchers plans to insert an ancient gene in a modern day bacteria and see if this gene will mutate back to its current-day form. The results will give insight into how unique the evolutionary path may be.
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
April 27, 2009 / Written by: Michael Schirber
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Planetary Science Decadal Survey
Dear Colleague:
This is the first of what will be a regular series of newsletters to the astrobiology community regarding the 2009-2011 Planetary Science Decadal Survey. We all get too much email, so I’ll try to keep these concise!
The key points in this newsletter are these:
1) The decadal survey will establish the priorities for planetary exploration in the U.S. for the coming decade.
2) Astrobiology is a major crosscutting theme of NASA’s planetary science activities and a central facet of the survey’s scientific scope.
3) The process is just getting started, and will...Source: [National Academies Space Studies Board]
April 24, 2009 / Written by: Steve Squyres
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Life at Blood Falls
Researchers from NASA’s Exobiology Program and colleagues have discovered an unmapped reservoir of briny liquid buried under an inland Antarctic glacier that supports unusual microbial life. The environment is cold, dark, and lacks oxygen; conditions which would previously have led scientists to believe nothing could survive. After sampling and analyzing the outflow from below the Taylor Glacier, researchers believe that, lacking enough light to make food through photosynthesis, the microbes have adapted over the past 1.5 million years to manipulate sulfur and iron compounds to survive. Their research is published in the current issue...
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
April 21, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Evidence for the Great Oxidation Event Challenged
The timing of the rise of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere is a key question in astrobiology. It is coupled not only to the question of when organisms capable of oxygenic photosynthesis first evolved on Earth, but also what signs of life might be found on young Earth-like planets around other stars.
Members of NAI’s Penn State and Carnegie Institution of Washington Teams report in the current issue of Science that certain sulfur isotopes found in many sedimentary rocks older than 2.4 billion years may not be the result of photochemical reactions in an oxygen-free atmosphere as previously thought....
April 17, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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NASA Astrobiology Website is Official Webby Honoree
The NASA Astrobiology Program website has been selected as an Official Honoree of the 13th annual Webby Awards! The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences presents Webby Awards and names Official Webby Honorees in 70 categories spanning art, health, music, and science. Of nearly 10,000 entries to the competition, fewer than 15% were selected as honorees, and the NASA Astrobiology Program website shares this year’s distinction in the category of Website/Science with ten other websites including the likes of Seed Magazine, the California Academy of Sciences, and...
April 15, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
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Invisible Yellowstone
Research conducted in Yellowstone National Park by astrobiologists from NAI’s Montana State Team is highlighted in the 30-minute film Invisible Yellowstone, produced by MSU’s Thermal Biology Institute and MSU’s Science and Natural History filmmaking program. The film is available on DVD by contacting Daniella Scalice at daniella.m.scalice@nasa.gov
April 9, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
