New Paper: Natural Nuclear Reactors & the Origin of Life

Zach Adam recently published a paper titled “Temperature oscillations near natural nuclear reactor cores and the potential for prebiotic oligomer synthesis” in the journal Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres. Below is a short summary of his idea. This paper is about how complex geological energy transfer processes could have been on the early Earth. Most people don’t automatically think about nuclear fission reactors when they think about radioactive rocks. One reason is because we have this idea that […]

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Meet the Team: Lauren Seyler

This month we feature Lauren Seyler, a research scientist with a specialty in oceanography and microbial ecology who recently joined our team. BMSIS: Please tell us a little about yourself. Lauren: I got my Ph.D. in biological oceanography from Rutgers University in 2015. My dissertation concerned the ecology and metabolic activity of marine archaea and the role of these microorganisms in the marine carbon cycle, and focused on using stable isotope probing (SIP) to track the uptake and incorporation of […]

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Wrinkled Brain Receives Sprout Fund Grant

The Wrinkled Brain Project, led by Dr. Brendan Mullan and Amanda Joy, has been awarded a grant by the Sprout Fund. The Sprout Fund seeks to support innovative change in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where The Wrinkled Brain Project is headquartered. This funding will enable Amanda to participate in the 3rd Annual STEM Conference “STEMcon” as they continue to distribute their learning content into new classrooms. Congratulations to Amanda and Brendan!

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Outreach in Izmir, Turkey

BMSIS ​Young Scientist ​Gökçe Senger engaged a group of over twenty students at the Izmir Institute of Technology in Turkey​. ​ Gökçe’s engagement was part of h​er​ Communications requirements for the BMSIS Young Scientist Program. BMSIS is continuously committed to engaging the public in the wonders of Space Exploration and the Earth System. Our ​Young Scientist Program continues this tradition by engaging local communities around the world. Read Gökçe’s impressions below: First of all, let me introduce myself. My name […]

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NAI Director’s Discretionary Fund

Two BMSIS scientists have been selected for a 2015 DDF award through the NASA Astrobiology Institute! Dr. Laurie Barge (JPL) has been selected for her proposal, “Catalytic Diversity at the Emergence of Metabolism: Hydrothermal Carbon Dioxide Reduction on Fe/Ni-Sulfide Catalysts.” Dr. Barge will lead a team of investigators to simulate hydrothermal vent systems in an effort to understand the potential role of these environments in the origin of life. Eddie Schwieterman (University of Washington) has been selected for his proposal, […]

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Adviser to Senate of Chile

Dr. Armando Azua-Bustos has been appointed as Scientific Adviser to the Senate of Chile. Dr. Azua-Bustos’ responsibilities include providing advice or clarifications on a wide range of scientific and technology-related activities that pertain to policies in or affecting Chile. Congratulations to Dr. Azua-Bustos as he serves his community in this role.

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Public Outreach in Brazil

Our BMSIS Scientist Dr. Ivan Glaucio Paulino Lima recently traveled to Brazil and spent 3 weeks engaged in public outreach activities. He talked about his role as microbiologist in the space mission Eu:CROPIS, a partnership between NASA and the German Space Agency, DLR., as well as the Space Settlement Design Contest, co-operated by NASA Ames Research Center, San Jose State University, and the National Space Society (NSS) for all students up to 12th grade (18 years old) from anywhere in […]

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Outreach at the Ethiopian Community Center

NASA/BMSIS Young Scientist Program participant Mastewal Abate engaged 10 high school students and 3 college students at the San Francisco Ethiopian Community Center. Mastewal’s engagement was part of her Communications requirements for the NASA/BMSIS Young Scientist Program. BMSIS is continuously committed to engaging the public in the wonders of Space Exploration and the Earth System. The NASA/BMSIS Young Scientist Program in Space Biosciences at NASA Ames continues this tradition by engaging the local community in the vicinity of NASA’s Silicon […]

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Research Assistant in Experimental Evolution at Harvard

Research Assistant in Experimental and Molecular Evolution Harvard University Organismic and Evolutionary Biology A laboratory technician (research assistant) position is available with Dr. Betül Kacar, Group Leader within the Edwards Laboratory at the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University. The researcher will contribute to the development of a new experimental approach that involves reconstructing ancient molecular components and observing their biological function in modern bacterial cells through experimental evolution. This will generate experimental systems consisting of viable modern-ancient […]

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Synthetic Biology Ethics

Palmer Fliss shares his ethics & society case study, which he completed as part of our Young Scientist Program. When one hears the phrase “synthetic biology”, images of clone soldiers, designer babies, cyborgs, and GMOs spring to mind. With the cost of genetic sequencing dropping precipitously thanks to advances in the technology, coupled with the rise of increasingly specific genetic manipulation techniques, synthetic biology has developed from a field only touched upon in science fiction to a real scientific field […]

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