Although we've been focusing lately on photosynthesis, radiolysis -- the dissociation of molecules by ionizing radiation -- can produce food and energy for life below the surface and in deep oceans. Our interest in surface conditions thus needs to be complemented by...
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Our Earliest Ancestor Appeared Soon After Earth Formed
Until we learn whether or not life exists on other planets, we extrapolate on the basis of our single living world. Just how long it took life to develop is a vital question, with implications that extend to other planetary systems. In today's essay, Alex Tolley...
Energetics of Archaean Life in the Ocean Vents
If SETI is all about intelligence, and specifically technology, at the other end of astrobiology is the question of abiogenesis. Does life of any kind in fact occur elsewhere, or does Earth occupy a unique space in the scheme of things? Alex Tolley looks today at one...