Astronomy
For the First Time, Scientists Detect Molecule Critical to Life in Interstellar Space
For the first time, a complex, ring-shaped molecule containing 13 atoms—including sulfur—has been detected in interstellar space, based on laboratory measurements. The discovery closes a critical gap by linking simple chemistry in space with the complex organic building blocks found in comets and meteorites. This represents a major step toward explaining the cosmic origins of the chemistry of life.
Cracks on Europa Sport Traces of Ammonia
The search for life-supporting worlds in the Solar System includes the Jovian moon Europa. Yes, it's an iceberg of a world, but underneath its frozen exterior lies a deep, salty ocean and a nickel-iron core. It's heated by tidal flexing, and that puts pressure on the interior ocean, sending water and salts to the surface. As things turn out, there's also evidence of ammonia-bearing compounds on the surface. All these things combine to provide a fascinating look at Europa's geology and potential as a haven for life.
"Red Geyser" Galaxies Have Plenty of Star-Forming Gas But Don't Form Stars
Red Geysers are an unusual class of galaxy that contain only old stars. Despite having plenty of star-forming gas, Red Geysers are quenched. Astronomers have mapped the flow of gas in these galaxies and figure out why they're dormant.
Can we genetically improve humans using George Church’s famous list?
Can we genetically improve humans using George Church’s famous list?
Goldstone’s DSS-15 Antenna and the Milky Way
New Measurements of Europa's Ice Shell Taint the Icy Moon's Potential Habitability
Jupiter's icy moon Europa is a tantalizing target in the search for habitability in our Solar System. Its thick, global ice sheet overlies a warm, salty, chemically-rich ocean. But for life to exist in that ocean, nutrients need to find their way from the surface to the ocean. New research says that may be very difficult.
Boron Could Be Astrobiology’s Unsung Hero
The light, rare element boron, better known as the primary component of borax, a longtime household cleaner, was almost mined to exhaustion in parts of the old American West. But boron could arguably be an unsung hero in cosmic astrobiology, although it's still not listed as one of the key elements needed for the onset of life.
For predatory dinosaurs, the Late Jurassic was an all-you-can-eat sauropod buffet
Some 150 million years ago, sauropods dramatically shaped the dinosaur ecosystem in what is now the western U.S., according to a new study
A bomb cyclone and extreme cold will freeze the eastern U.S.—again
In the latest bout of winter weather, a bomb cyclone could bring blizzard conditions to the Carolinas while freezing temperatures reach all the way to Florida
Perseverance Rover Discovers an Ancient Martian Beach, Complete with Waves
When the rover now named Perseverance landed in Jezero crater in early 2021, scientists already knew they had picked an interesting place to scope out. From space, they could see what looked like a bathtub ring around the crater, indicating there could once have been water there. But there was some debate about what exactly that meant, and it’s taken almost five years to settle it. A new paper from PhD student Alex Jones at Imperial College London and his co-authors has definitively settled the debate on the source of that feature - part of it was once a beach.
