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| Life's Boiling Point |
| Topic: Extreme Life |
11/10/08 |
| Some proteins can work above the boiling point of water, but these vital biomolecules may have a harder time evolving at high temperature. A new project is searching for the maximum temperature for protein-based life. |
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| Titan Triple Threat |
| Topic: Titan |
11/06/08 |
| The Cassini-Huygens mission has given us our best view yet of Titan, but this moon of Saturn still remains shrouded in mystery. A proposed future mission takes a three-tiered approach – using an orbiting spacecraft, a surface probe, and a hot air balloon -- to further explore the enigmatic moon. |
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| Cliffbot Goes Climbing |
| Topic: Missions |
11/03/08 |
| From Astrobiology Magazine, European Edition is a story about a rover that can scale the steep sides of cliffs and craters. Developed by a group of NASA engineers, this three-rover system, modeled on tether-aided human climbing, could make such locations on Mars accessible for future exploration. |
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| Cold Storage for Alien Organisms |
| Topic: Moon to Mars |
10/30/08 |
| Some lunar craters may be perfect for preserving samples of life from Earth, and possibly even from Mars or other planets. Ancient organic remnants could have been delivered to the Moon as debris that was thrown into space after asteroids impacted rocky worlds. |
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| Seeing Life in Viruses |
| Topic: Extreme Life |
10/27/08 |
| From Astrobiology Magazine, European Edition is a story about research conducted by Kirsi Lehto of the University of Turku in Finland. Lehto studies plant viruses with an eye toward their role in the origin and evolution of life. |
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| Cutting Life Short |
| Topic: New Planets |
10/23/08 |
| Imagine a solar system where a life-bearing planet is slowly pulled in closer to its star. If life could survive the ensuing climate change, it would provide a clear example of the Gaia hypothesis in action. |
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| Simulating Survival in Space |
| Topic: Moon to Mars |
10/20/08 |
| When humans are sent to Mars, will they survive the journey? People confined to close quarters for a long time inevitably get on each others nerves, and the fact that Mars is named after a god of warfare seems a bad omen. |
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| "Alien" Water Bears Amaze Scientists |
| Topic: Extreme Life |
10/16/08 |
| Tardigrades, commonly known as "water bears", have been reared under laboratory conditions and subjected to a barrage of tests. Their survivability shows that animals can survive extreme conditions, and also may indicate how humans could adapt to the rigors of space. |
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| Studying a Giant Planet |
| Topic: Jupiter |
10/09/08 |
| Eight years from now, the Juno spacecraft will arrive at Jupiter, with instruments to study its atmosphere. Research goals for the mission include determining how the giant planet formed, how much water it contains, and how its powerful auroras compare to Earth´s Northern Lights. |
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| Measuring the Weight of Ancient Air |
| Topic: Climate |
10/06/08 |
| In the first study of its kind, researchers will measure the air pressure from nearly three billion years ago by using gas bubbles in lava and tiny craters made by raindrops. The results could indicate what sort of life may have existed on the ancient Earth. |
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