chemistry
One of Life’s Building Blocks can Form in Space
Peptides are one of the smallest biomolecules and are one of life's critical building blocks. New research shows that they…
Curiosity Sees a Strong Carbon Signature in a Bed of Rocks
Carbon is critical to life, as far as we know. So anytime we detect a strong carbon signature somewhere like…
Did Cosmic Dust Deliver the Phosphorus Needed for Life?
Without phosphorus, there's no life. It's a necessary part of DNA, RNA, and other biological molecules like ATP, which helps…
How To Search the Chemical Makeup of Exoplanet Atmospheres for Hints at Their History
Author’s note – this article was written with Dr. Vincent Kofman, a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), working in…
Did Asteroid Impacts Provide Both the Heat and Raw Ingredients to Enable Life?
This is our Great Question: How did life begin on Earth? Anyone who says they have the answer is telling…
The Interior of Enceladus Looks Really Great for Supporting Life
When NASA's Voyager spacecraft visited Saturn's moon Enceladus, they found a body with young, reflective, icy surface features. Some parts…
Astronomers Report They’ve Detected the Amino Acid Glycine in the Atmosphere of Venus
Does it feel like all eyes are on Venus these days? The discovery of the potential biomarker phosphine in the…
Did Pioneer See Phosphine in the Clouds of Venus Decades Ago?
The discovery of phosphine in Venus' atmosphere has generated a lot of interest. It has the potential to be a…
Maybe Volcanoes Could Explain the Phosphine in Venus’ Atmosphere
The detection of phosphine in Venus' atmosphere was one of those quintessential moments in space science. It was an unexpected…
The Chemicals That Make Up Exploding Stars Could Help Explain Away Dark Energy
Astronomers have a dark energy problem. On the one hand, we've known for years that the universe is not just…