Latest articles by Michael Schirber
Lonely Galaxies Appear Blue
A survey of galaxies in voids finds a surprising amount of star formation.
'Snowball Earth' Might Be Slushy
Climate modelers go back in time to simulate past Snowball Earth conditions and find that complete freeze-over is hard to achieve.
Rock Art On Earth Draws Scientists to Ancient Lakes
Seven thousand year-old rock paintings in the Sahara desert have, somewhat serendipitously, helped uncover evidence of ancient lake beds.
Microbe's Innovation May Have Started Largest Extinction Event on Earth
The environment can produce sudden shocks to the life of our planet through impacting space rocks, erupting volcanoes and other events.
Scientists Use Earth to Understand Possible Life in the Universe
Astrobiologists use Earth as an analogue for other planets.
Stratosphere-Dwelling Microbes Could Inform Mars Life Hunt
Earth's stratosphere and the Martian surface are similar in key ways, researchers say.
Future Planetary Rovers May Make Their Own Decisions
A new technique could make planetary rovers more autonomous.
Volcanic Rocks Could Have Nurtured Life on Earth & Elsewhere
Volcanism on other planets could nurture microbes as well.
Asteroid Impacts Could Help out Underground Life
Big impacts could create new habitats for subterranean microbes.
Our Sun May Have Been Bigger Long Ago
The sun may have started out 2 to 5 percent more massive than it is now.
How NASA's Curiosity Rover Will Study Building Blocks of Life
Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument will analyze organic material.
Missions Proposed to Explore Mysterious Tilted Planet Uranus
Several Uranus missions are in development, but none have been approved and funded yet.
New Spacecraft Will Hunt for Mars' Lost Water
Missions like Mars MAVEN will look for signs that the Red Planet used to be wet.
How Vital Is a Planet's Magnetic Field? New Debate Rises
Does our magnetic field really shield Earth from the solar wind?
Definition of Life: Debate Still Swirls Around Arsenic Claim
The claim of a microbe that swaps arsenic for phosphorus may be questionable, but its implications are far-reaching.
'Snowball Earth' Scenario Plunged Our Planet Into Million-Year Winters
Snowball Earths, eras in which our planet was locked in a global winter, have perplexed researchers studying how our planet unfroze itself.
Meteorite-Based Debate Over Martian Life Is Far from Over
Scientists are still arguing about whether the Martian meteorite ALH84001 contains fossils.
Alien Life May Need More Than Liquid Water to Survive
The search for life on other planets focuses on water, but researchers argue that — judging from our own planet — a large fraction of water conditions may be inhospitable to life.
Alien Plants Get New Twist in World of 'Avatar'
The film "Avatar" takes viewers to a fictional moon, where the alien plants glow, shoot poison leaf tips and communicate.
Martian Hunting: The Search for Extraterrestrial Genomes
The possibility that life was shared between Earth and Mars could be tested with a DNA analyzer. One research team has built a prototype and plans field tests on a South American volcano.
Scientists Cook Up Saturn Moon Cocktail on Earth
Scientists are cooking up a replica of the surface of Saturn's moon Titan to learn more about the lakes recently discovered there.
Water Shield May Have Seeded Earth’s Oceans
Water vapor in planet-forming disks may block ultraviolet radiation from destroying water and other important molecules for life, according to new calculations.
