The SciencesMarch 28, 2012
Primeval Precipitation: What Fossil Imprints of Rain Reveal about Early Earth
Fossil rain suggests the atmosphere 2.7 billion years ago boasted a hydrocarbon haze
Extraterrestrial Life
The SciencesMarch 23, 2012
Evidence for Flowing Water on Mars Grows Stronger
Liquid remains the leading explanation for newly discovered streaks on Martian slopes
The Young American Scientists Issue—Read Now
March 19, 2012
Alien Planets May Thrive on Many Wavelengths of Light
New discoveries are making chlorophyll-d and a cyanobacterium named Acaryochloris marina interesting for scientists trying to find life on extrasolar planets
March 7, 2012
Earthshine Sets Example for Life-Light Search
Researchers looking for life on exoplanets tried a proof-of-concept experiment by examining the light bouncing off Earth, via the moon. Cynthia Graber reports
Space & PhysicsFebruary 13, 2012
Red Sea: Sounding Radar Buoys Evidence Mars Once Had an Ocean
The Red Planet looks to have been home to a large body of water billions of years ago
Space & PhysicsFebruary 12, 2012
Alien Life May Not Survive on Planets with Uranus-Like Tilts
Subdued seasonality might be linked to the emergence of complex life on Earth around 600 million years ago
The SciencesFebruary 7, 2012
Russian Team Has Reached Buried Antarctic Lake, Reports Say
Despite the risks of contaminating what may be a pristine and fragile environment, scientists have now drilled to the top of the lake
Space & PhysicsFebruary 6, 2012
Hunter's Moons: Astronomers Use Kepler Spacecraft to Search for Exomoons
There may be Earth-size satellites orbiting exoplanets that can be detected using Kepler data. But where the HEK are they?
The SciencesFebruary 4, 2012
Russian Scientists Poised to be First to Reach Ice-Buried Antarctic Lake
If they don't reach the lake before they are forced to leave for the winter, the Russian team will be forced to wait two more years to sample water from the lake, and discover what may be living in it
Space & PhysicsFebruary 2, 2012
Newfound Alien Planet Is Best Candidate Yet to Support Life, Scientists Say
A potentially habitable alien planet has been found orbiting a nearby star
Space & PhysicsFebruary 1, 2012
Thanks to Plants, We Will Never Find a Planet Like Earth
Earth's flora is responsible for the glaciers and rivers that have created this planet's distinctive landscape
Space & PhysicsJanuary 27, 2012
Dozens and Dozens: NASA's Kepler Spies Packs of New Exoplanets
The discovery of a planet outside our solar system used to be so important that a big announcement from NASA or other professional planet-finders would usually bring news of a single planet, or perhaps a few.