organic

Mars: Curiosity rover discovers diverse cache of organic minerals

by

Organic molecules and clay minerals found in Gale Crater could be a sign of ancient Martian life, but it isn’t possible yet to rule out that they are products of inorganic processes Space 10 March 2022 By Alex Wilkins The Gale Crater as viewed through a camera on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS The Curiosity … Read more

Machine builds druglike organic molecules in a snap | Science

by

Organic chemistry, one of science’s most grueling disciplines, is poised to get a whole lot easier. Six years ago, a team of chemists created a robotic system that could construct a wide variety of organic molecules including potential pharmaceuticals, dyes, and perfumes. But the setup had limited abilities: It could build flat molecules—chains or 2D … Read more

Lego Robot with an Organic ‘Brain’ Learns to Navigate a Maze

by

In the winter of 1997 Carver Mead lectured on an unusual topic for a computer scientist: the nervous systems of animals, such as the humble fly. Mead, a researcher at the California Institute of Technology, described his earlier idea for an electronic problem-solving system inspired by nerve cells, a technique he had dubbed “neuromorphic” computing. … Read more

Latest Study Finds No Trace of Aliens in 4-Billion-Year-Old Martian Meteorite

by

To date, we’ve found over a hundred precious Mars rocks that have travelled from the red planet and landed on Earth at some point. Among those, specimen ALH84001 might well be one of the most enigmatic.   This meteorite fragment was picked up during a snowmobile ride in the ice field of Alan Hills in Antarctica … Read more

Mars: Organic compounds were made by water interacting with rocks

by

Molecules containing carbon atoms, called organics, have been found all over Mars and could hypothetically have been formed by living organisms, but it seems they were not Space 13 January 2022 By Leah Crane The Allan Hills 84001 meteorite NASA/JSC/Stanford University Organic compounds – those containing carbon atoms – found all over Mars were produced … Read more

Infamous Mars meteorite contains organic molecules, but they aren’t proof of life

by

Organic molecules found in a Mars meteorite that crash-landed on Earth are not signs of life, but instead formed in chemical reactions between water and rock on the Red Planet about 4 billion years ago, a new study finds. These findings could shed light on the origins of the building blocks of life on early … Read more

Organic Molecules Have Been Confirmed in The Jezero Crater on Mars

by

It hasn’t even been on Mars a full year, and NASA’s Perseverance rover is making excellent surprise discoveries. Amid a number of findings announced this week at the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, scientists have revealed that the Jezero Crater formed from molten volcanic magma – and that organic molecules have been discovered in rocks … Read more

NASA’s Perseverance rover finds organic chemicals on Mars

by

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has found life’s building blocks on the Red Planet. Perseverance has identified carbon-containing organic chemicals in some of the rocks it has examined on the floor of Mars’ Jezero Crater, mission team members announced on Wednesday (Dec. 15).  To be clear: This is not a detection of Mars life. Organics can … Read more