AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science

The AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science, established in 2010, recognizes early-career scientists and engineers who demonstrate excellence in their contribution to public engagement with science activities. A monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque, complimentary registration to the AAAS Annual Meeting, and reimbursement for reasonable hotel and travel expenses to attend the AAAS Annual Meeting to receive the prize are given to the recipient.

For the purposes of this award, public engagement activities are defined as the individual’s active participation in efforts to engage with the public on science- and technology-related issues and...

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Source: [AAAS]

July 30, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Sampling Microbial Muck

Forgoing the use of the Mat Sampler 3000, Eric Collins gets down and dirty with a handful of lakeshore mud, performing a sniff test before deciding to add it to his collecting jar. Credit: Henry Bortman
Astrobiology Magazine’s field research editor Henry Bortman spent a week alongside members of the Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP) in British Columbia, Canada. In Bortman’s sixth and final report, he describes a day trip to collect nasty-smelling microbial slime at nearby lakes. Visit Astrobiology Magazine now to ask questions of researchers in the field and watch their video responses.

Source: [astrobio.net]

July 27, 2010 / Written by: Henry Bortman

The World's Deepest Vent

An expedition partially funded by NASA’s ASTEP program has discovered the deepest known hydrothermal vent in the world, 5000 meters below the Caribbean Sea. The vent was discovered while exploring the 110-kilometer-long Mid-Cayman Rise, an ultra-slow spreading ridge located in the Caribbean’s deepest point. The research will help extend our understanding of the limits of life on Earth and help prepare for future efforts to search for life on other planets.

Source: [NASA JPL]

July 25, 2010 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

Astrobiology Session at AGU

B40: Mission to Mars and Beyond: What Can We Learn About Life Detection From
Exploring Extremes on Earth
Sponsor: Biogeosciences, Planetary Sciences

Analog research projects are an important tool for developing and validating mission concepts, exploration strategies, science operations, and prototype technologies. These science investigations entail field research in terrestrial environments that are analogous to those found on other planets, past or present. Analog missions are used to test hypotheses on the limits to life on Earth and habitability elsewhere, and to validate biosignature detection techniques and contamination mitigation strategies. Results from analog mission activities are solicited. This session will be run in...

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July 21, 2010 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

Life on Other Worlds NASA eClip

Geared toward the K-5 set, this NASA-produced video introduces the search for life on other planets, especially through the idea of life in ice as suggested by findings from NASA’s Phoenix mission.

July 21, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Outer Space, Under Water

Astrobiology Magazine’s field research editor Henry Bortman is spending a week alongside scientists and astronauts in the field at Pavilion Lake. In Bortman’s fifth report, he talks with astronauts participating in the Pavilion Lake Research Project. The astronauts are aiding scientists in exploring the unique lake by piloting the DeepWorker submarines that are used to examine microbialites lining the lakebed. Visit Astrobiology Magazine now to ask questions of researchers in the field and watch their video responses.

Source: [astrobio.net]

July 19, 2010 / Written by: Henry Bortman

Earth-Like Planets May Be Shielded From Solar Scorching

Danger zone? The nearby M dwarf star Gliese 581 and some of its planets. A new study indicates that suns like this may not be as detrimental to habitable worlds as thought. Credit: ESO/L. Calcada

Many of our galaxy’s suns have destroyed the atmospheres of orbiting Earth-like planets—or so astrobiologists have long feared. The Milky Way, they note, is dominated by M dwarf stars: violent, unpredictable suns that frequently hurl high-energy particles and solar flares into space. Because they are much cooler than our sun, any potentially habitable planet would need to orbit them much closer than Earth does, putting it smack in the danger zone. But a new study from NAI’s Virtual Planetary Laboratory indicates that these planets may be unexpectedly shielded from solar activity, keeping life safe.

Source: [Science NOW]

July 16, 2010 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice