microbes

Efforts to Detect Alien Life Advanced by Simple Microbe Mobility TestEfforts to Detect Alien Life Advanced by Simple Microbe Mobility Test

Efforts to Detect Alien Life Advanced by Simple Microbe Mobility Test

Finding alien life may have just got easier! If life does exist on other worlds in our Solar System then…

1 week ago
How Well Could Earth Life Survive on ExoplanetsHow Well Could Earth Life Survive on Exoplanets

How Well Could Earth Life Survive on Exoplanets

Astronomers have found some pretty wild exoplanets. Some are balls of lava the temperature of hell, one is partially made…

4 weeks ago
Can We Survive in Space? It Might Depend on How Our Gut Microbiome AdaptsCan We Survive in Space? It Might Depend on How Our Gut Microbiome Adapts

Can We Survive in Space? It Might Depend on How Our Gut Microbiome Adapts

For over a century, people have dreamed of the day when humanity (as a species) would venture into space. In…

1 year ago
Even Tiny Amounts of DNA on Mars Will Be DetectableEven Tiny Amounts of DNA on Mars Will Be Detectable

Even Tiny Amounts of DNA on Mars Will Be Detectable

The Search for Life is focused on the search for biosignatures. Planetary life leaves a chemical fingerprint on a planet's…

1 year ago
The International Space Station Gets a Clean Bill of Health. Despite a Few Opportunistic Microbes, the Station is “Safe” for AstronautsThe International Space Station Gets a Clean Bill of Health. Despite a Few Opportunistic Microbes, the Station is “Safe” for Astronauts

The International Space Station Gets a Clean Bill of Health. Despite a Few Opportunistic Microbes, the Station is “Safe” for Astronauts

In a recent study published in Microbiome, a team of researchers led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory conducted a five-year…

2 years ago
Animals Could Have Been Around Hundreds of Millions of Years Earlier Than Previously BelievedAnimals Could Have Been Around Hundreds of Millions of Years Earlier Than Previously Believed

Animals Could Have Been Around Hundreds of Millions of Years Earlier Than Previously Believed

According to new Earth sciences research, the oldest fossilized remains of animal life may have been found in the Canadian…

4 years ago
Did Ancient Martian Life Eat Rocks For Food?Did Ancient Martian Life Eat Rocks For Food?

Did Ancient Martian Life Eat Rocks For Food?

Some lucky astronomers get to work with some of the rarest material in the world.  Real Martian meteorites are extraordinarily…

4 years ago
Microbes Were Dormant for Over 100 Million Years, But They Were Able to Spring Back to LifeMicrobes Were Dormant for Over 100 Million Years, But They Were Able to Spring Back to Life

Microbes Were Dormant for Over 100 Million Years, But They Were Able to Spring Back to Life

At the bottom of the ocean in the South Pacific Gyre, there's a sediment layer that is among the most…

5 years ago
A NASA Panel Says We Don’t Need to be so Careful About Infecting Other WorldsA NASA Panel Says We Don’t Need to be so Careful About Infecting Other Worlds

A NASA Panel Says We Don’t Need to be so Careful About Infecting Other Worlds

It's time to update the rules. That's the conclusion of a panel that examined NASA's rules for planetary protection. It…

5 years ago

Astronomy Cast Ep. 514: Planetary Protection Protocols

As we send rovers and landers to other worlds, we have to think about the tiny microbial astronauts we're sending…

6 years ago