Life Detection – The Primordial Scoop

Spacek vs. Cleland: is term ‘life’ useful or useless in astrobiology?

We enjoyed a heated, in-person discussion about the usefulness of life during a debate hosted by the University of Florida. Although we both maintained our divergent positions, we discovered that our advice to astrobiologists is identical: look for anomalies.

By Jan Spacek February 5, 2024Astrobiology, Life, Microscoop, Philosophy3 Comments

Life Life on Mars Mars NASA

Spacek vs. Benner: Thanksgiving showdown about life on Mars

A heated debate between Steven Benner and Jan Spacek, discussing life on Mars, its metabolism, and utility of a Steven's model of Martian metabolism.

By admin November 23, 2023Life, Life on Mars, Mars, NASA1 Comment

Life on Mars Mars

Evolution is cleverer than you are

Biology is very difficult to predict but surprisingly easy to bend to fit any observed results. Life on Mars might employ various pathways to generate energy and fix reduced carbon. Contrary to Steven Benner's claims, at least some of the potential pathways do not involve the generation of molecular oxygen.

By Jan Spacek November 17, 2023Life on Mars, MarsNo Comments

Life on Mars

Assembly Theory and Agnostic Life Finding

Agnostic life finders can either look for molecules that are necessary for Darwinian evolution, or molecules that require Darwinian evolution to make. Assembly Theory promises to resurrect the second strategy after years of failure. Can it?

By Steven A. Benner March 24, 2023Life on Mars3 Comments

Astrobiology Life on Mars

New project to find existing life on Mars before humans arrive

ALFA Mars (Agnostic Life Finding Association – Mars) is a group of scientists, engineers, science communicators, and volunteers with a goal to determine whether indigenous life is present on Martian surface before the first crewed mission arrives there.

By Jan Spacek August 8, 2022Astrobiology, Life on MarsNo Comments

Astrobiology Single Scoops

NASA’s “Standards” White Paper. Does NASA’s drive for consensus make young scientists susceptible to being trampled by mastodons?

Survival in the Ice Age required youth who were able to balance instruction from their elders with a rebellious streak sufficient to reject their instructions when survival required adaptation. Does NASA's need for consensus upset this balance?

By Mark Harrison May 25, 2022Astrobiology, Single ScoopsNo Comments

Astrobiology Life

Cleland & Grinspoon response to Benner: Do synthetic microbes provide another example of life?

The NfoLD's White Paper on Standards of Evidence in Life Detection opened a discussion on this blog. In this piece Carol Cleland and David Grinspoon tear down Benner's "second example" of life.

By Carol Cleland May 19, 2022Astrobiology, Life1 Comment

Astrobiology Life on Mars NASA

How to Search for Life on Mars

This post provides additional discussion and references for How to Search for Life on Mars (Robert Zubrin, Steven Benner, and Jan Spacek, submitted to Scientific American)

By admin April 21, 2022Astrobiology, Life on Mars, NASANo Comments

Astrobiology Synthetic Biology

But We Have More Than One Example …

Carol despairs of having truly agnostic biosignatures to detect alien life, as it is impossible to extrapolate from the one example of life that we know. But that is the gift of synthetic biology, inductive logic, and reductionism. We induce agnostic biosignatures by understanding the chemistry required for biology.

By Steven A. Benner April 21, 2022Astrobiology, Synthetic BiologyNo Comments

Astrobiology Life

Grave Expectations

The problem with trying to codify an official protocol for recognizing biosignatures: We can try to devise rules for how detecting alien life should unfold, but E.T. might not play along.

By Guest Author April 19, 2022Astrobiology, Life1 Comment

Life Life on Mars NASA Synthetic Biology

NASA Headquarters Misses the Ball. Polyelectrolytes as the Key to Agnostic Life Finding

Synthetic biology, 20 years ago, taught NASA how to search generally, agnostically, and universally for alien life. NASA still does not understand the opportunity

By Steven A. Benner April 16, 2022Life, Life on Mars, NASA, Synthetic BiologyNo Comments

Astrobiology NASA

Is ignorance bliss? NASA’s NfoLD Workshop

Cite as: Benner, S. A. (2022) "Is ignorance bliss? NASA’s NfoLD Workshop". Primordial Scoop, e20220403. https://doi.org/10.52400/TMUG1175 One approach to find new ways to solve an old problem begins by throwing…

By Steven A. Benner April 3, 2022Astrobiology, NASANo Comments