Elephant carcasses leave a lasting legacy on the savanna, reshaping microbial communities and plant life.
life as we know it
Posted inNews
Archaea Survived Enceladus-Like Conditions in Lab
Enceladus’s ocean is extremely alkaline and low on carbon dioxide, but one terrestrial extremophile made it work.
Posted inNews
The Secrets of Acid Salt Lakes
These stunning bodies of water—saltier than seawater and nearly as acidic as lemon juice—can teach us more about where life can survive, on Earth and beyond.
Posted inNews
Where Did Formaldehyde Rain Down on Mars? Almost Everywhere.
More formaldehyde rained down in places that were already wet and favorable for prebiotic chemistry.
Posted inOpinions
What We Could Lose by Trying to Make Mars Habitable
The rock, ice, and atmosphere of Mars hold a largely unread archive. Terraforming could erase it before the biggest scientific questions are answered.
Posted inFeatures
Natural Mummies Hold Memories of Life and Land
All around the world, extreme conditions have kept ancient human remains shockingly well preserved.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Briny “Death Pools” Hold Clues to Early Life
New evidence from the depths of the Red Sea supports the oxidation of manganese and iron as an engine for life in the earliest oceans.
Posted inNews
Venusian Sulfur Clouds Might Not Be So Inhospitable After All
New research shows that peptides can fold into “omega loops” linked to biological functions, even in highly acidic environments.
Posted inNews
A Rare Look at How Life First Colonizes Cooling Lava Tubes
Life finds a way, and when volcanoes form new land, it gets going as soon as temperatures drop to manageable levels—even underground.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Australian Lakes Showed Us About Martian Hydrology
Studying the hydrology of the Yilgarn Craton reveals how the Red Planet may have evolved.