Content Marked with: Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences

Algae survived the post-dinosaur-killing asteroid darkness by eating other creatures

IFLSCIENCE - One of the most extraordinary things about the impact of an asteroid that hit Earth 66 million years ago is not what died, but what survived. A new study found that one order of marine algae made it through by changing its source of energy, feeding on other life forms instead of harvesting...
By Stephen Luntz | IFLScience |

Venus phosphine find: Unexplained gas hints at potential for alien life

CNET - Scientists have spotted something unexpected in the cloud decks of Venus, our nearest planetary neighbor. While no one is saying it's aliens just yet, some sort of alien microorganism is on the list of potential explanations for why a chemical that shouldn't be floating around above the planet has been observed there for...
By Eric Mack, Jackson Ryan | CNET |

Some stars could support as many as 7 habitable planets

UNIVERSE TODAY - In recent decades, over 4,000 extrasolar planets have been confirmed beyond our Solar System. With so many planets available for study, astronomers have learned a great deal about the types of planets that exist out there and what kind of conditions are prevalent. For instance, they have been able to get a...
By Matt Williams | Universe Today |

This worm-like creature is the first ancestor on the human and animal family tree

CNN - Evidence of a worm-like creature about the size of a grain of rice has been uncovered in South Australia, and researchers believe it is the oldest ancestor on the family tree that includes humans and most animals. The creature lived 555 million years ago. "We thought these animals should have existed during this...
By Ashley Strickland| CNN |

Life on Mars: what climate change tells us about the red planet

INVERSE - Timothy Lyons, a distinguished professor of biogeochemistry, discusses his new research to better understand the history of the atmosphere on Mars. Scientists have developed a new model to better understand whether Mars once hosted water — and maybe even life. The Martian surface is an inhospitable place: It is too cold for humans...
By SOFIA QUAGLIA | Inverse |
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