Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP)

NAI Twitters and Tweets

Do you Tweet? If so, then you’ll be happy to know that you can now follow an @AstrobiologyNAI Twitter stream. If you don’t have any idea what the first two sentences in this article are about, keep reading! They refer to a micro-blogging tool called “Twitter,” an increasingly popular, instant-messaging service that is quickly becoming the place where news breaks first, outpacing mainstream media. Individual blog entries in Twitter are called “Tweets,” and are limited to 140 characters, based on...

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June 25, 2008 / Written by: Wendy Dolci

NAI Ames Team Scientists Receive Honors

Three of our distinguished colleagues have just become even more so! Please join NAI in congratulating Dave Des Marais, Jack Lissauer, and Lou Allamandola on their continued achievements!

David Des Marais has been elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in recognition of his contributions to biogeochemistry and astrobiology. This designation (election as Fellow) is conferred upon not more than 0.1 percent of all AGU members in any given year. The recently-elected fellows will be...

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June 4, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Astrobiologist Discusses Her Highly Cited Work in Astrochemistry

An analysis of publications in astrochemistry by Science Watch reveals that the work of astrobiologist Pascale Ehrenfreund of George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute is highly cited in other publications. It ranks at #5 by total cites, #6 by papers, and #5 by cites per paper. Her record in this analysis includes 20 papers cited a total of 445 times. Three of these papers are on the list of the 20 most-cited...

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June 4, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Seafloor Microbes Abundant and Thriving....An Alternative Cradle for Life?

Researchers from NAI’s Marine Biological Laboratory Team continue their study of the deep biosphere, reporting the latest results in this week’s Nature. This new study reveals that bacterial communities dwelling on ocean-bottom rocks are more abundant and diverse than previously thought, especially relative to the overlying water column. The microbes appear to “feed” on the oceanic crust through seawater–rock alteration reactions...

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May 28, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Erosion on Earth and Mars: Mere Seepage or Megaflood?

Researchers from NAI’s University of California, Berkeley Team have a new study in this week’s Science focused on Box Canyon in Idaho. Incised into a basaltic plain with no drainage network upstream, and approximately 10 cubic meters per second of seepage emanating from its vertical headwall, the canyon is a veritable poster child of groundwater seepage erosion. But this new study posits evidence that the canyon’s formation was caused rather...

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May 28, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

Enzyme's Active Site Revealed

A new study from NAI’s Montana State University Team appears in the current issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society. The study probes the hydrogenase enzyme, a large, complex enzyme which plays a major role in anaerobic metabolism by creating molecular hydrogen. The research team produced a crystal structure of the enzyme to unprecedented resolution, revealing a new level of detail in the enzyme’s active site, and providing clues about it’s evolution. These...

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May 27, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

NAI Member Receives Sagan Medal

G. Jeffrey Taylor from NAI’s University of Hawai’i Team is the recipient of the 2008 Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science. The Sagan Medal, presented by the American Astronomical Society (AAS) on an (almost) annual basis, was established by AAS’s Division for Planetary Sciences to recognize and honor outstanding communication by an active planetary scientist to the general public. Recipients are scientists...

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May 27, 2008 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice