Tag Archives: blog7

hoping for a good (tardi)grade on this blog

At first glance, tardigrades don’t look like much. Affectionately nicknamed “water bears” and “moss piglets”, it’s hard to believe that this millimeter long creature is one of Earth’s most durable extremophiles. According to BCC, tardigrades are found all over the planet from the bottom of the ocean, to Antarctica, to the tops of the Himalayas.Continue reading “hoping for a good (tardi)grade on this blog” Continue reading

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ExploreTheUniverse

Astrobiology is the study of life in the universe. A true interdisciplinary study, astrobiology combines elements of many fields of science such as astronomy, biology, chemistry, and geology—just to name a few. Astrobiology seeks to answer some of life’s biggest questions such as: Do extraterrestrial beings exist? Comparatively speaking, astrobiology as an official discipline isContinue reading “ExploreTheUniverse” Continue reading

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All About Tardigrades!

Tardigrades are a type of invertebrate and extremophile since they are able to thrive in extreme environments. Other names for tardigrades are water bears or moss piglets. They are typically 1 mm long or smaller. Tardigrades can live in numerous different environments such as damp moss, flowering plants, sand, fresh water, and the sea. InContinue reading “All About Tardigrades!” Continue reading

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Astrobiology

Astrobiology is the study of life and the universe and the search for life beyond it. Nasa lists astrobiology as having three questions “How does life begin and evolve? Is there life beyond Earth and, if so, how can we detect it? What is the future of life on Earth and in the universe?” andContinue reading “Astrobiology” Continue reading

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Don’t Count Them Out

When we discussed the possibility of life on other planets, the main crux of the idea were the abilities of extremophiles to survive in unimaginable conditions. These guys take the idea of making the best of a bad situation to the next level, comfortably surviving in subzero temperatures or toxic radiation. Thinking about these improbableContinue reading “Don’t Count Them Out” Continue reading

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Religious Pushback to Science: The Scopes Trial

When you first studied biology, you likely saw a picture like this: Though discussing evolution seems commonplace today, it wasn’t always accepted.  Notably, the debate over teaching it in schools bubbled up in our backyard just under one hundred years ago: the 1925 Dayton, Tennessee, Scopes Trial.  In this post, I’ll tell you about theContinue reading “Religious Pushback to Science: The Scopes Trial” Continue reading

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A New Discovery in the World of Extremophiles

Geologists have recently discovered an entire new species of extremophiles among us on planet earth, and the location may shock you. More than 500 km away from nutrients and sunlight, these extremophiles have made a home beneath the Antarctic ice shelf (SOURCE). While this discovery was not meant to actually happen, scientists are pleasantly surprisedContinue reading “A New Discovery in the World of Extremophiles” Continue reading

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Gotta be Life out there

Today we will be talking about extremophiles. After learning about all of the potential life that can survive in the harshest of environments, it made me think that there must be life out there. What may seem like a super hot, extremely pressurized environment to us on Venus, may seem like the ideal conditions forContinue reading “Gotta be Life out there” Continue reading

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Life In The Extremes

If there’s anything I’ve learned in my studies of biology over my education, it’s that life is precarious, delicate, and precious. However, now that I’ve learned more about astrobiology through this course, I’ve also come to know that life is hardy and determined. As Ian Malcom so astutely notes in Jurassic Park, “Life finds a … Continue reading Life In The Extremes Continue reading

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I Want To Believe!

Forget Fermi’s paradox. Forget the Drake equation. Yet another hot-button topic relating to astronomy and (potential?) extraterrestrial life is- you guessed it- unidentified flying objects (UFOs for short). Do I think it’s kind of a stretch that I’m relating this to chapter 24? Absolutely! But with the (relatively) recent declassification by the Pentagon of three… Continue reading

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