Astrobiology

Moons orbiting rogue planets could maintain liquid water oceans for up to 4.3 billion years through tidal heating and hydrogen-rich atmospheres. Researchers from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics reached this conclusion in a new study.

22 maggio 2026 Riportato dall'IA

Researchers in South Korea have found stromatolites inside the Hapcheon impact crater, suggesting asteroid strikes created conditions that supported early oxygen-producing life.

A team of researchers from Japan, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and Germany has suggested that life on Earth may have begun in sticky, gel-like materials attached to rocks, rather than inside cells. This 'prebiotic gel-first' hypothesis posits that these primitive gels, similar to modern microbial biofilms, provided a protected environment for early chemical reactions to evolve into complex systems. The idea, published in ChemSystemsChem, also has implications for searching for life on other planets.

09 febbraio 2026 Riportato dall'IA

Researchers in India have shown that baker's yeast can survive extreme conditions mimicking Mars, including shock waves and toxic salts. The study highlights the organism's resilience through protective cellular structures. These findings could inform astrobiology and future space missions.