First Mars samples are headed to Earth. What are the risks?

A Mars Space Flight team member warns that people need to be prepared for what's coming.

Image source: Marat Gilyadzinov/unsplash
  • A mission to and from Mars aims to bring back signs or examples of life.
  • Expect material direct from the Red Planet around 2031.
  • A special lab to quarantine the samples is being designed.
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mars microbiology space microbes nasa sociology

What the 3rd Star Wars trilogy was supposed to be about

Spoiler: Microbiomes in space!

Image source: Disney
  • A recent interview reveals the visionary inspiration behind Star Wars.
  • The story was originally an excerpt from the Journal of the Whills.
  • The Whills were the force behind the Force.
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microbiology faith science fiction storytelling religion entertainment film

Is NASA ignoring proof of Martian life from the 1970s?

One of the scientists with the Viking missions says yes.

Image source: David Williams/NASA
  • A former NASA consultant believe his experiments on the Viking 1 and 2 landers proved the existence of living microorganisms on Mars.
  • Because of other conflicting data, his experiments' results have been largely discarded.
  • Though other subsequent evidence supports their findings, he says NASA has been frustratingly disinterested in following up.
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planets universe astronomy mars microbiology nasa space

Hypoxia researchers win 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine

Three scientist friends, working separately, share the prestigious prize.

Photo credit: JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP via Getty Images
  • Nobel recognizes breakthrough insights into cell's perception and response to changes in oxygen levels.
  • Too title oxygen is a problem. Also too much.
  • Their research unveiled a genuine "textbook discovery."
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medicine genetics disease microbiology molecular biology human body hypoxia cell oxygen nobel prize medical research

Could Earth have a 'shadow' biosphere?

Some scientists think there may be a hidden, second form of life living right under our noses.

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  • All life on Earth shares some basic characteristics, such as being carbon-based; using DNA, RNA, and proteins to function; and so on.
  • Many of these characteristics are simply the only ones that could work in Earth's environment, but there are also a surprising number of seemingly arbitrary features of life.
  • Under the shadow biosphere theory, some scientists argue that alternative forms of life exist right here on Earth, undetected simply because we don't know to look for them.
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astrobiology biology dna evolution microbes microbiology biosphere