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astrobiology

Latest Articles

A DNA double helix being struck by a cosmic ray.
Abstractions blog

Cosmic Rays May Explain Life’s Bias for Right-Handed DNA

By Charlie Wood
June 29, 2020
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Cosmic rays may have given right-handed genetic helixes an evolutionary edge at the beginning of life’s history.

Art for "Galaxy Simulations Offer a New Solution to the Fermi Paradox "
Abstractions blog

Galaxy Simulations Offer a New Solution to the Fermi Paradox

By Rebecca Boyle
March 7, 2019
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Astronomers claim in a new paper that star motions should make it easy for civilizations to spread across the galaxy, but still we might find ourselves alone.

Ewine van Dishoeck at Noordwijk beach in the Netherlands.
Thinking Places

Ewine van Dishoeck, the Netherlander Who Traced Water’s Origin

By Natalie Wolchover +1 authors
Olena Shmahalo
November 1, 2018
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The astrochemist and winner of the 2018 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics has wondered about the cosmic origin of water while enjoying Noordwijk beach near her hometown of Leiden.

Victoria Meadows in her garden with her cockatoo.
Thinking Places

Victoria Meadows’ Earthly Visions of Alien Life

By Natalie Wolchover +1 authors
Olena Shmahalo
June 5, 2018
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A living, breathing garden in Seattle serves as the perfect backdrop to an astrobiologist’s search for life on faraway planets.

astrobiology

Scientists Debate Signatures of Alien Life

By Natalie Wolchover
February 2, 2016
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Searching for signs of life on faraway planets, astrobiologists must decide which telltale biosignature gases to target.

geophysics

How Life and Luck Changed Earth’s Minerals

By Roberta Kwok
August 11, 2015
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Did the minerals on our planet arise in a predictable fashion, or did they result from chance events? The answers could eventually help scientists identify planets likely to harbor life.

Biology

New Twist Found in the Story of Life’s Start

By Emily Singer
November 26, 2014
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All life on Earth is made of molecules that twist in the same direction. New research reveals that this may not always have been so.

cosmology

Peering Into the Early Universe

By Natalie Wolchover
March 7, 2013
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Three “extremely large telescopes” poised to begin observations within a decade could help answer some of the universe’s oldest and best-kept secrets.


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