Steven A. Benner – Page 2 – The Primordial Scoop

Is NASA making itself irrelevant to the search for life in the cosmos?

NASA holds this week a workshop to consider looking (again) for existing life on Mars … but only 20 years from now. By then, humans may have been on Mars for a decade, thanks to Elon Musk, or (maybe) someone less interested in planetary protection. Thus, in 2042, detecting indigenous Martian life will likely be much more difficult. NASA will be too late.

By Steven A. Benner March 23, 2022Astrobiology, NASANo Comments

Astrobiology Life on Mars Single Scoops

Benzoic acid on Mars. A 20 year old prediction come true?

Millan et al. just reported the discovery of benzoic acid in the dunes on Mars. Remarkably, benzoic acid was predicted 20 years ago to be on Mars as a product of organics falling to Mars via meteorite. And possibly ... life. Simply by understanding basic organic chemistry.

By Steven A. Benner November 4, 2021Astrobiology, Life on Mars, Single ScoopsNo Comments

Single Scoops

The Importance of Chemistry in Astrobiology. Sandra Pizzarello

Cite as: Benner, S. A. (2021) "The Importance of Chemistry in Astrobiology. Sandra Pizzarello". Primordial Scoop, 2021, e1102. https://doi.org/10.52400/YQUF9286 Sandra Pizzarello passed away a few days ago, and we have…

By Steven A. Benner November 2, 2021Single Scoops1 Comment

Astrobiology NASA Single Scoops

Culture, Consensus, and Why NASA Committees Write Things That Are Not True

Science begins when individuals challenges the consensus. Unfortunately, NASA committees are likely to throw such individuals to the sharks.

By Steven A. Benner November 2, 2021Astrobiology, NASA, Single Scoops4 Comments

Single Scoops

Gilbert Levin and Life on Mars

Gil Levin met the 1976 burden of proof for Mars life detection. Unfortunately, the community forgot that he did so.

By Steven A. Benner October 30, 2021Single Scoops2 Comments

Single Scoops

NASA: The Gatekeeper of “Consensus Science”?

Discoveries, even discoveries that later prove to be data misinterpretations, can advance thinking about the existence of life throughout the cosmos.

By Steven A. Benner October 29, 2021Single Scoops1 Comment

Life

Universal Theory of Life, a debate

A useful definition-theory of life drives research into origins and synthetic biology.

By Steven A. Benner September 11, 2021Life1 Comment

Single Scoops

The Shadow Biosphere

Three papers published today in Science point to the possibility of a "shadow biosphere": a domain of life invisible to conventional scientific detection methods because its DNA contains different building blocks.

By Steven A. Benner April 29, 2021Single Scoops4 Comments

Single Scoops

If we are related to Martians, how would we know (Part 2)?

How we would know if we were related to Martians if our last our common ancestor had not yet evolved the ability to synthesize proteins

By Steven A. Benner April 19, 2021Single ScoopsNo Comments

Life on Mars Origin of Life Single Scoops

If we are related to Martians, how would we know (Part 1)?

If life ever existed on Mars, it's possible that it could be related, in some way, to life on Earth. Fortunately, such a relationship would leave signs in Martian biochemistry.

By Steven A. Benner March 29, 2021Life on Mars, Origin of Life, Single Scoops1 Comment

Astrobiology Origin of Life

An Earth-Sized Planet 41 Light Years Away with Hydrogen Cyanide. So What?

Hydrogen cyanide has rare chemical properties that make it an important ingredient for the abiotic creation of nucleic acids, the building blocks of DNA

By Steven A. Benner March 28, 2021Astrobiology, Origin of LifeNo Comments

Origin of Life

If Earth was a Water World, then we are Martians

Explaining the origin of life is a historical question, which makes it difficult to resolve with traditional hypothesis testing. However, there are other ways to think about the problem.

By Steven A. Benner March 13, 2021Origin of Life2 Comments