Scientists are uncovering genes responsible for oxygenic photosynthesis in cyanobacteria to shift the search for potentially habitable worlds.
life as we know it
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Looking for Life on Enceladus: What Questions Should We Ask?
On icy ocean worlds, a research framework built around the theory of organic chemical evolution could surface deeper insights than a hunt limited to direct evidence of life.
Posted inNews
Europa’s Ocean Might Lack the Ingredients for Life
The lack of volcanism and tectonic activity on Europa’s seafloor might hinder the moon’s potential to host living organisms.
Posted inNews
Volcanic Lightning May Have Retooled the Nitrogen Needed for Life
Early Earth’s volcanoes could have spurred lightning that transformed atmospheric nitrogen, creating molecules that would have been necessary for life to emerge.
Posted inNews
Last Chance Lake Harbors the Highest Known Levels of Phosphate
Bodies of water such as this might have functioned as cradles of life, given their unique biogeochemistry.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
科学家研究木卫二的热量如何通过海洋向上传递
木星的卫星木卫二可能是太阳系中最有希望寻找到生命的地方之一。一项新的研究探讨了热量是如何从木卫二的地幔通过海洋转移到其冰壳中的。
Posted inNews
Olivine May Have Given Life a Jump Start
A mineral common throughout the solar system nudges a reaction that produces sugar molecules from formaldehyde.
Posted inFeatures
Modern Microbial Mats Offer Glimpses of Other Times and Places
Comprising diverse groups of microbes, isolated but globally scattered mat ecosystems like those in Lake Huron may be analogues of life on early Earth and in other exotic environs.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Scientists Investigate How Heat Rises Through Europa’s Ocean
A new study examines how heat may be transferred from the mantle, through the ocean, and into the icy crust of one of Jupiter’s moons—perhaps among the most promising places in our solar system to search for life.
Posted inNews
Giant Planets May Be “Agents of Chaos”
Two studies suggest that some giants could make it difficult or even impossible for terrestrial planets to remain in a star’s habitable zone.