In Search for Alien Life, Purple May be the New Green April 25, 2024 Instead of green, many bacteria on Earth contain purple pigments, and purple worlds on which they are dominant would produce a distinctive “light fingerprint” detectable by next-generation ground- and space-based telescopes. Read more Image
Protein Fragments ID Two New Extremophile Microbes, and May Help Find Alien Life March 29, 2024 Learning more about how extremophiles survive in hostile conditions could inform scientists about life on Earth and potential life on other planets. Read more Image
Teams behind OSIRIS-REx Win Prestigious Aviation Award March 28, 2024 The team behind the University of Arizona-led NASA mission to sample the asteroid Bennu joins the ranks of the Apollo 11 crew and Orville Wright to earn the Robert J. Collier Trophy. Read more Image
Loathed by Scientists, Loved by Nature: Sulfur and the Origin of Life March 28, 2024 A University of Arizona-led study shines a spotlight on sulfur, a chemical element that, while all familiar, has proved surprisingly resistant to scientific efforts in probing its role in the origin of life. Read more Image
Future of the Search for Life: Workshop Report March 15, 2024 The report highlights discussions about advancements in measurement techniques and technology needed for future missions designed to search for signs of life in the Solar System. Read more Image
NASA’s Webb Finds Ethanol, Other Icy Ingredients for Worlds March 14, 2024 What do margaritas, vinegar, and ant stings have in common? They contain chemical ingredients that NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has identified surrounding two young protostars known as IRAS 2A and IRAS 23385. Read more Image
AABC Mensch Prize Award Winners March 13, 2024 AABC is proud to award its first Mensch Prize in Astrobiology for graduate student Lilia Koelemay and undergraduate student Garret Wilson. This prestigious award includes a certificate and a cash prize of $1,000 for outstanding contributions to the field of astrobiology. Read more Image
Some Intelligent Civilizations Could Be Trapped on Their Worlds March 7, 2024 If the dominant species on an ocean world builds a technological civilization of some sort, would they be able to escape their ocean home and explore space? Read more Image
Could Tardigrades Have Colonized the Moon? March 6, 2024 Given their remarkable abilities to survive situations that would kill pretty much any other animal, could they have contaminated the moon? Worse, might they be able to reproduce and colonize it? Read more Image
Cosmic Dust Could Have Helped Get Life Going on Earth Feb. 28, 2024 While prebiotic chemicals such as sugars and amino acids are known to appear in asteroids and comets, a new study shows that cosmic dust also seeded young Earth. Read more Image