By Prakriti Karki  Will the dreams of those who wish to see humans settle Mars be limited to dreams only or will they turn out to be a reality some day? There are several signs that the latter may come to fruition — some important technologies like those of synthetic biology (SynBio) are even giving more hope to making Mars settlement a reality within our lifetimes.  Synthetic biology is a new trending engineering approach in biology which has made engineering […]

By Nipun Chandrasiri  To answer some of the biggest questions of life, such as how life began on Earth or if there is life out there, we need to understand what the universe is made up of. From the beginning of the space exploration era, scientific measurements were made to understand the composition of various planetary bodies. Analytical chemistry, the realm of scientific exploration that includes using instruments and methods to explore the chemical makeup of a sample or a […]

By Jaqueline Ramirez  Understanding the origins of life and the first evolutionary events on Earth is an integral part of our quest to find life forms on other planets. For this, and although it is a complex concept, it is important to try to establish a definition of life (or, at least, a characterization of life) and to consider the limits and physical parameters in which it can develop. Starting from a prevalent working definition of life accepted by NASA […]

By Isita Singh We are yet to encounter many of the innumerable dreadful events that occur within our galaxy. One such event that the scientists expect to turn out to be potentially dreadful for our planet is the explosion of a massive star leading to what we call a supernova. No wonder that it shall be one of the most dazzling visual sights to think of and if by chance we got to see in any form, the view shall […]

By Alyssa Eakman It’s easy to forget how much humanity is in science. Imagining science, especially on a professional level, may evoke mental images of metal instruments, white lab coats, and cold, hard calculations. Robots and screens and beakers are part of science, of course, but what often gets overlooked is humanity. Behind all the overworked computers and lines of code and chalkboard mathematics are humans.  The curiosity and cravings for company that are so innate to human nature underscore […]

By Xi Chen The history of the Neogene paleoclimate and environment are hidden in a “secret collection” written by nature in code. Scientists all over the world are explaining and reading these “secrets”, among which the three most widely read books include deep-sea sedimentation, polar ice cores, and Chinese loess. The Loess Plateau is one of the longest (about 20 million years) and most complete land paleoclimate recorders discovered so far. The Loess Plateau is composed of loess, a word […]

by Diego Dueñas Parapar Mars is one of the planets that many members of humankind plan to settle relatively soon. Since the mid-20th century, many space missions have been carried out for the exploration of Mars — satellites, landers, rovers, and even a helicopter have been sent with the aim of getting to know the climatological, geological, and (maybe) biological conditions on the Red Planet. Thanks to these missions, we know that Mars has an atmosphere dominated by approximately 96% […]

By Sarah Treadwell – BMSIS Science Writer The astrobiology world was buzzing last year when a study was released stating levels of phosphine had been detected in the cloud decks of Venus. While this study was subjected to the full scrutiny of the scientific method since published, it opened a flood gate of interest in taking a closer look at the potential for life on Earth’s deadly twin planet. NASA selected Davinci+ (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, […]

By Sarah Treadwell – BMSIS Science Writer Author and aquanaut, Alan A. Allen has worked in an office which few others can say they ever had. If we are ever lucky enough to have a window in our office, we rejoice. Allen’s office view was more than a window, it was the ocean floor. During the 60’s and 70’s, Alan conducted research with NOAA (The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) studying the effects of oil spills on marine life. Using […]

By Daniel Runyan What is the origin of life? This question can loosely sum up what Dr. Jim Cleaves has been so devoted to studying for most of his scientific career. When he learned that the origins of life itself was a valid field of study, he just knew that he had to focus his research on that question. The evolution of molecules and the boundary of where the inorganic becomes organic are exactly the kind of problems that led […]