01 November 2021
Curiosity finds organic molecules in Mars sand dune
... biomolecules essential to all known forms of life. As part of the research, the team also focused their search on amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, as these and other species such as amines and amides have previously been...
25 July 2018
Radiation on Europa dictates where search for life begins
...as you might imagine. By using previously published information on amino acids that had been zapped with a beam of high-energy ...- and high-latitudes, I.e towards Europa’s poles. Although amino acids are not strictly a sign of life, they are the...
February 2016
Danish Surprise for ISS Crew
... way it works is, you have receptors on your tongue and these can detect certain proteins broken down to amino acids, and when the receptors grab them they send a signal straight to the brain. Literally, like a sugar...
April 2019
Scanning the skies for exoplanets
... that LHS 3844 b doesn’t have any either. “Life as we know it requires liquid water and complex molecules (amino acids, nucleotides). Such molecules cannot survive in temperatures greater than 200 degrees Celsius (C) and water cannot exist...
January 2023
Producing food in space
..., nitrogen (which can be sourced from urea) and some minerals. The microorganisms are then able to make amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids (fats) and vitamins. Solein’s taste has a delicate touch of umami, which blends into any...
24 January 2020
New study suggests Enceladus' oceans more habitable than previously thought
... and oxygen in the plumes – the latter two being organic compounds that play a key role in producing amino acids. Researchers had detected other organic molecules coming from the icy moon before, but this was...
