NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI)

An Alternative Path for the Evolution of Nitrogen Fixation

Bayesian inferred phylogenetic reconstruction of Anf/Vnf/NifD, BchN, and NflD proteins. The putative substrates and cofactors for each protein lineage are indicated below each respective clade.

A team of researchers supported by the NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) has proposed an new path in the evolution of biological nitrogen fixation on Earth. Nitrogen is one of the most important elements for life on Earth, and astrobiologists have long been interested in its role in the history and evolution of life.

Nitrogen is abundant on our planet as an atmospheric gas. However, in order for Nitrogen to be accessible for life, it must be converted into other chemical forms. A key step in the global cycling of nitrogen is biological nitrogen fixation,...

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February 8, 2012 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

2012 Astrobiology Graduate Student Conference

The 2012 Astrobiology Graduate Student Conference will be held on August 27–30, 2012, preceded by the Research Focus Group splinter, August 24-26. The conference will be held at the California Institute for Technology (Caltech), with an outreach event at the University of Southern California (USC), and a field-trip to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

The conference will consist of three days of scientific sessions, two evenings of public outreach and education activities, and a one day field trip to JPL. The talks and poster sessions will draw on the success of past AbGradCons as a...

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February 2, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

A New Postdoc at NAI Central

Please join in welcoming postdoctoral Fellow Arsev Aydinoglu to the NAI Central team! He is a social scientist studying NAI’s current collaborative practices. He will provide insight and recommendations for their evolution and improvement, particularly with respect to remote communication, data sharing and analysis across distance, collaborative problem solving, interdisciplinary science, and institutional identity.

Arsev received his Ph.D. in Information Science from the College of Communication and Information, at the University of Tennessee, where he investigated the emergence of DataONE, a multidisciplinary, multiinstitutional, and multinational distributed organization to develop a cyberinfrastructure to deposit, share, and preserve earth sciences...

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February 1, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Astrobiologists among the 2012 Geochemical Fellows

Susan Brantley (Penn State), James Farquhar (University of Maryland), Lee Kump (Penn State) and Kevin McKeegan (UCLA) are among the 2012 Geochemical Fellows.
The Geochemical Society and European Association of Geochemistry have announced ten researchers that have been selected to receive the honor of 2012 Geochemical Fellow. Among the fellows elected this year are four scientists whose work is supported in part by elements of the NASA Astrobiology Program:

• Susan Brantley (Penn State)
  NAI team:
  Pennsylvania State University (CAN5)

• James Farquhar (University of Maryland)
  NAI teams:
  Carnegie Institution of Washington (CAN5)
  Pennsylvania State University (CAN5)

• Lee Kump (Penn State)
  NAI Team:
  Pennsylvania State University (CAN5)

• Kevin McKeegan (UCLA)
  NAI Team:
  Pennsylvania State University (CAN5)

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January 26, 2012 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

NAI Announces 2011 Director's Discretionary Fund Selections

The NASA Astrobiology Institute is pleased to announce selections for research awards resulting from its 2011 Director’s Discretionary Fund competition. The selections cover a wide range of research topics, from an examination of microbial succession on islands of floating pumice to defining the habitable zone’s outer edge by combining climate evolution models with models of orbital and obliquity evolution.

The selections are as follows:

Tilt-A-Worlds: Chaotic Obliquities and the Limits of the Habitable Zone, Lead Investigator Rory Barnes
This project seeks to couple orbital models to climate models to perform interdisciplinary, self-consistent investigations of these planets’ habitability. These models...

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January 6, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

FameLab Astrobiology in Houston

We need you in Houston! Sign up today to participate in FameLab Astrobiology at the Lunar and Planetary Institute on January 13th. FameLab is a science communication competition that focuses on building your skills with workshops on good communication practices. The workshop in Houston will be led by the Co-Directors of the National Association for Interpretation. Competitors will present a three-minute piece on their research or an astrobiology-related topic of their choosing. Those topping the competition in Houston will go on to the final at AbSciCon in April…the winner there will go...

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January 5, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

New Astrobiology Chair at Library of Congress

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS NOW FEBRUARY 13TH

Candidates should apply directly using the online form. Nominations should be submitted in writing to scholarly@loc.gov.

NASA and the Library of Congress have established the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA-Library of Congress chair in Astrobiology at the Library’s scholarly research organization, the John W. Kluge Center in Washington. The chair is named for the late Nobel Laureate and founding director of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, Baruch
“Barry” Blumberg.

Astrobiology is the study of the origins, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology addresses three fundamental...

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January 3, 2012 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice