Life Detection – Page 2 – The Primordial Scoop

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

Astrobiology Life NASA

2022 State of NASA Address: Astrobiology at NASA no longer looks for life on Mars

NASA gave up on looking for life on Mars, while planning to irreversibly biologically contaminate its surface. It is now up to private philanthropists to support life searching missions, while Mars is still biologically pristine. We know how to do it.

By Jan Spacek April 1, 2022Astrobiology, Life, NASA1 Comment

Astrobiology NASA

Science traceability matrices. Organized thinking, or organized biases?

NASA's workshop this week seeks to use STMs to speed the creation of new ideas to guide missions to detect life in the Solar System. But do STMs simply provide a veneer of respectability to old ideas, blocking the emergence of the new?

By Steven A. Benner March 25, 2022Astrobiology, NASANo Comments

Astrobiology NASA

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

Single Scoops

Thoughts on Benner’s “Life, the Universe, and the Scientific Method”

Does the neologism "definition-theory" have any value when exploring our understanding of life.

By Carol Cleland January 11, 2022Single ScoopsNo Comments

Astrobiology Life Origin of Life

Why searching for extraterrestrial life with a universal biosignature detection framework is a mistake.

A couple of weeks ago a group affiliated with NASA released a “white paper” claiming that scientists need a universal biosignature detection framework for searching for extraterrestrial life. Unfortunately, there is a serious problem with the first part of their proposal.

By Carol Cleland November 22, 2021Astrobiology, Life, Origin of Life5 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