Geology Upset: Wind Carves Canyons Fast
March 19, 2015
According to a new study, wind carves canyons ten times faster than water. This has implications for theories on Mars and Earth.
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Mars Methane Is Not Alive
December 16, 2014
Small periodic spikes in methane on Mars are turning the Mars-lifers into spin doctors.
Astrobiology Hopes Diminish
December 6, 2014
Recent findings both near and far create challenges for beliefs that life is common in the universe.
Curtains for OOL: Oxygen Was Present from the Start
October 10, 2014
Free oxygen is death to life trying to evolve, but it was present early on, being formed naturally from atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Canyons on Earth, Mars Reinterpreted as Flood-Caused
October 4, 2014
Catastrophic floods formed canyons long thought to have been formed by slow, gradual processes.
Planet Rotation Limits Habitability
August 15, 2014
Life can't exist on a planet that rotates too fast or slow. This is another Goldilocks problem for astrobiologists to consider.
New Ways to Find E.T.
August 11, 2014
SETI researchers may not have to wait by the stellar radio dial for their imaginary friends to call in. They might eavesdrop on their pollution.
Reality Check: Favored Planet Theory Dries Up
July 26, 2014
Three "hot Jupiters" sing "how dry I am," casting serious doubt on the leading theory of planet formation.
Keeping Titan Old
June 21, 2014
As the Cassini orbiter makes its 103rd close pass by Titan, have long-agers found ways to keep it billions of years old?
To Be Habitable, a Planet Needs Inhabitants
June 6, 2014
In a chicken-or-egg conundrum, astrobiologists are asking whether inhabitants are needed to make a planet habitable.
Carbon Cycle Keeps Earth from Fate of Venus, Mars
March 23, 2014
Another delicate balance making Earth habitable has been identified: the carbon cycle.
Changing Stories at Saturn and Titan
December 21, 2013
News from the ringed planet and its largest moon shows scientists can't keep their stories straight when trying to keep Saturn billions of years old.
Scientists Dodge Youthfulness of Saturn Moon Titan
August 17, 2013
Like Enceladus, Saturn's moon Titan shows multiple signs of being far less than 4.5 billion years old – yet the press releases are strangely silent about the implications.
Titan Is as Titan Does
December 23, 2012
Saturn's giant moon Titan keeps revealing mysterious dynamics in the here and now, leaving interpretation to fallible scientists who sometimes predicted otherwise.
Rubisco “Highly Tuned” for Fixing Atmospheric Carbon
June 22, 2006
Rubisco sounds like a brand of cracker or something, but it’s actually an air cleaner your life depends on. It’s an enzyme that fixes atmospheric carbon for use by photosynthetic microbes and plants. In doing so, it sweeps the planet of excess carbon dioxide – the greenhouse gas implicated in discussions of global warming – […]