The search for life elsewhere in the universe is a pivotal question in modern science. However, to address whether life is common in the universe we must first understand the likelihood of abiogenesis by studying the origin of life on Earth. A key missing piece is the origin of biomolecular homochirality: permeating almost every life-form on Earth is the presence of exclusively levorotary amino...

The method of detailed balance, introduced by Shockley and Queisser, is often used to find an upper theoretical limit for the efficiency of semiconductor pn-junction based photovoltaics. Typically the solar cell is assumed to be at an ambient temperature of 300 K. In this paper, we describe and analyze the use of radiative cooling techniques to lower the solar cell temperature below the ambient...

The existence of life in extreme conditions, in particular in extraterrestrial environments, is certainly one of the most intriguing scientific questions of our time. In this report, we demonstrate the use of an innovative nanoscale motion sensor in life-searching experiments in Earth-bound and interplanetary missions. This technique exploits the sensitivity of nanomechanical oscillators to tra...

This account traces a lecture given to El Colegio Nacional last March during a Conference “On the origin of life on the Earth” organized to celebrate Darwin’s Bicentennial. It reports on the extraterrestrial organic materials found in carbon-containing meteorites, their composition, likely origin and possible prebiotic contribution to early terrestrial environments. Overall, this abiotic chemis...

Among all known microbes capable of thriving under extreme and, therefore, potentially extraterrestrial environmental conditions, methanogens from the domain Archaea are intriguing organisms. This is due to their broad metabolic versatility, enormous diversity, and ability to grow under extreme environmental conditions. Several studies revealed that growth conditions of methanogens are compatib...

We have used the Solar Tower Atmospheric Cherenkov Effect Experiment (STACEE) high-energy gamma-ray detector to look for fast blue-green laser pulses from the vicinity of 187 stars. The STACEE detector offers unprecedented light-collecting capability for the detection of nanosecond pulses from such lasers. We estimate STACEE's sensitivity to be approximately 10 photons/m(2) at a wavelength of 4...

A Thesis Progress Report Presented By Kyle K. Nichols .to The Faculty of the Geology Department of The University of Vermont October 15, 1998 Accepted by the Faculty of the Geology Department, the University of Vermont, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science specializing in Geology. The following members of the Thesis Committee have read and approved this...

1 Botanic Institute of Barcelona (IBB-CSIC-ICUB), Barcelona, Spain 2 Department of Stratigraphy, Paleontology and Marine Sciences, Faculty of Geology, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain 3 Department of Geology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidade da Coruña, A Coruña, Spain 4 Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), Blanes, Girona, Spain 5 Centre for Ecological Research and Fores...

! Abstract Astrobiology is the study of the living universe. Astronomy provides the context for the origin and evolution of life on Earth. Conversely, discoveries about the terrestrial biosphere—from extremophilic microbes to the evolution of intelligence— inform our thinking about prospects for life elsewhere. Astrobiology includes the search for extraterrestrial life via in situ exploration, ...