NAI
2009 Annual Science Report
University of Hawaii, Manoa
Reporting | JUL 2008 – AUG 2009
Quantification of the Disciplinary Roots of Astrobiology
Project Summary
The questions of astrobiology span many scientific fields. This project analyzes databases of scientific literature to determine and quantify the diverse disciplinary roots of astrobiology. This is one component of a wider study to build a map of relationships between the constituent fields of astrobiology, so relevant knowledge in diverse fields can be most efficiently inform the study of life in the universe.
Project Progress
We have identified the most relevant databases of scholarly literature in astrobiology and related fields, crafted initial search strategies designed to isolate a core corpus of astrobiology publications across multiple databases, and have begun work on a term co-occurrence analysis to relate the literature of astrobiology to relevant work from diverse fields.
Publications
- Doerr, M., Hunter, J. & Lagoze, C. (2003). Towards a Core Ontology for Information Integration. Journal of Digital Information, 4(1).
- Garfield, E. (1995). Citation Indexes for Science: A New Dimension in Documentation through Association of Ideas. Science, 122(3159): 108-111.
- Kanfer, A. & et al. (2000). Modelling Distributed Knowledge Processes in Next Generation Multidisciplinary Alliances. Next Generation Enterprises: Virtual Organizations and Mobile / Pervasive Technologies.
- Klein, J.T. (1990). Interdisciplinarity: History, Theory & Practice. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.
- Krippendorff, K. (2004). Content Analysis: An Introduction to Its Methodology. Sage Publications, Inc; 2nd edition.
- O’Donnell, A.M. & et al. (2002). Knowledge Maps as Scaffolds for Cognitive Processing. Educational Psychology Review, 14(1): 71-86.
- Star, S.L. & Griesemer, J.R. (1989). Institutional Ecology, 'Translations’ and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907-39. Social Studies of Science, 19(4): 387-420.
- Suchman, L.A. (1987). Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication. Cambridge: Cambridge Press.
- Swanson, D.R. (1986). Fish Oil, Raynaud’s syndrome, and undiscovered public knowledge. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 30: 7-18.
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PROJECT INVESTIGATORS:
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RELATED OBJECTIVES:
Objective 1.1
Formation and evolution of habitable planets.
Objective 1.2
Indirect and direct astronomical observations of extrasolar habitable planets.
Objective 2.1
Mars exploration.
Objective 2.2
Outer Solar System exploration
Objective 3.1
Sources of prebiotic materials and catalysts
Objective 3.2
Origins and evolution of functional biomolecules
Objective 3.3
Origins of energy transduction
Objective 3.4
Origins of cellularity and protobiological systems
Objective 4.1
Earth's early biosphere.
Objective 4.2
Production of complex life.
Objective 4.3
Effects of extraterrestrial events upon the biosphere
Objective 5.1
Environment-dependent, molecular evolution in microorganisms
Objective 5.2
Co-evolution of microbial communities
Objective 5.3
Biochemical adaptation to extreme environments
Objective 6.1
Effects of environmental changes on microbial ecosystems
Objective 6.2
Adaptation and evolution of life beyond Earth
Objective 7.1
Biosignatures to be sought in Solar System materials
Objective 7.2
Biosignatures to be sought in nearby planetary systems
