Q&A
The origin of life wasn't fat-free
James Sáenz studies how fatty molecules might have helped life get started
Astrobiology
Maybe don't call exoplanets "Earth-like" until the 2040s
A plea and a note on science communication
Space
Hot rocks are what's cool in rocky exoplanet research
Habitable zone? Pfft. For exciting planetary science discoveries, keep your eye on lava worlds and hot rocks.
Astrobiology
A bad month for space whales
Two new papers on Europa and Titan complicate the case for habitable oceans on the icy moons. They're still our best bet for finding aliens.
Astrobiology
What do space sugars tell us about the origin of life?
The mystery of life's origin is not a missing magic ingredient, it's a missing process.
Opinion
True fictions
The storytelling instinct conjures illusions of consensus in science
Astrobiology
There is no time telescope
The Mars that may have hosted life long ago is our neighbor in space only.
Satire
The Loeb Scale for science PR disasters
The Loeb Scale measures the severity of science PR disasters from typos to fraud
Astrobiology
A habitable world next door?
More than you needed to know about the smudge of light that might be a planet in the habitable zone of the nearest Sun-like star