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.
life as we know it
Where Did Formaldehyde Rain Down on Mars? Almost Everywhere.
More formaldehyde rained down in places that were already wet and favorable for prebiotic chemistry.
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.
Natural Mummies Hold Memories of Life and Land
All around the world, extreme conditions have kept ancient human remains shockingly well preserved.
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.
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.
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.
What Australian Lakes Showed Us About Martian Hydrology
Studying the hydrology of the Yilgarn Craton reveals how the Red Planet may have evolved.
宇宙轰击为前生物化学反应创造了条件
在地球形成之初,小行星和微行星的频繁撞击塑造了地壳,并创造出可能支持前生物化学反应、甚至可能孕育早期生命的环境。
Perseverance Spots Organic Matter on Mars
The Mars Perseverance rover has detected intact organic molecules near previously-described potential signatures of ancient life, according to a new study published today in Science Advances.
