"Does the axis and orbit of the Earth effect the Earths climate, can this be another contribution to global warming? "
-
US Advances to FameLab International Final
The FameLab International event began today at the Cheltenham Science Festival in the UK with two rounds of semi-final competition. 19 competitors took the stage but only 10 emerged as finalists…one of which was our very own Brendan Mullan of Penn State, the FameLab Astrobiology winner!The Grand Final will take place at 1pm EDT on Friday, June 15th and will be webcast, so tune in and show your support!
June 13, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
-
Channeling our Ion Past
Artist illustration of ion channels. Image Credit: Controlled Quantum Dynamics Group
To understand how the first cells transported ions across their membranes, researchers supported by the NASA Exobiology and Evolutionary Biology (Exo/Evo) program are studying simple channels used by fungi to kill off bacteria. The ability to shuffle ions in and out of a cell is clearly vital to life as we know it, but how the necessary membrane channels originated is a mystery. Andrew Pohorille, of NASA’s Ames Research Center, and his team are now studying how these simple “tunnels” could have developed the ability to regulate the flow of ions through them. A better understanding...Source: [astrobio.net]
June 7, 2012 / Written by: Michael Schirber
-
Finding Iron's Role In Life On Early Earth
The shape of an RNA molecule remains the same with either magnesium (Mg) or iron (Fe).When life began on Earth, iron may have done the job of magnesium, making life possible.
On the periodic table of the elements, iron and magnesium are far apart. But new evidence discovered by NAI’s team at the Georgia Institute of Technology suggests that three billion years ago, iron did the job magnesium does today in helping Ribonucleic acid (RNA), a molecule essential for life, assume the molecular shapes necessary for biology.
The results of the study are scheduled to be published online on May 31, 2012 in the journal PLoS ONE.
There is considerable...
Source: [NASA Press Release]
May 31, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
-
Seeking Signs of Life at the Glacier’s Edge
Ice augering at a glacier, taking measurements in Greenland, and collecting a sediment core. Credits: Seth Young, Lisa Pratt
Microbes living at the edges of Arctic ice sheets could help researchers pinpoint evidence for similar microorganisms that could have evolved on Mars, the Jovian moon Europa, or Saturn’s moon Enceladus. With support from the NASA ASTEP program, a team of scientists recently investigated the western edge of the Greenland ice sheet in order to study the release of methane as the ice sheet recedes. Careful isotopic analysis will help them determine if the methane comes directly or indirectly from methanogenic microbes.In 2011, the researchers used an infrared laser to look for methane at multiple...
Source: [astrobio.net]
May 17, 2012 / Written by: Charles Q. Choi
-
Recorded Sessions from AbSciCon Now Available
John Grotzinger leads a plenary session at AbSciCon, as broadcast in Adobe Connect.Several sessions at the 2012 Astrobiology Science Conference were broadcast live via Adobe Connect and recorded. An archive of talks from 18 sessions is now available for viewing online via the AbSciCon website.
Source: [AbSciCon]
May 3, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
-
FameLab Astrobiology...and the Winner is...
Join us in congratulating Brendan Mullan from Pennsylvania State University on winning the 2012 FameLab Astrobiology competition! The Finals were held on Monday, April 16th during the Astrobiology Science Conference in Atlanta, GA. The judges selected one winner from among the 11 finalists, whose presentations can all be seen here. Brendan joins the winners of FameLab competitions from all over the world this June in the UK, and will represent the United States in the FameLab International Final event!
FameLab was set up in 2005 by Cheltenham Festivals in partnership with the UK’s...
Source: [NASA]
May 1, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice
-
Impacts Could be Boon for Subterranean Life
On site at the Chesapeake Bay Impact Structure, geologists examine and catalog core sections. Credit: Aaron L. Gronstal
A drilling project into the Chesapeake Bay impact structure has found evidence that the subsurface may become more habitable after a large impact. Although major impacts could have been responsible for some of Earth’s largest mass extinctions, microbes living deep underground may actually benefit from such events.
“Impacts can fracture the rocks in the deep surface, which will allow fluids and nutrients to flow in,” says Charles Cockell from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and lead author of the study recently published in the journal Astrobiology.Source: [astrobio.net]
April 26, 2012 / Written by: Michael Schirber
