Related papers: Life in solid ice
Context. Interstellar ice is the main form of metal species in dark molecular clouds. Experiments and observations have shown that the ice is significantly processed after the freeze-out of molecules onto grains. The processing is caused by…
A few results that indicate the presence of temperature variations in gaseous nebulae are reviewed. The evidence is based on: a) temperatures derived from different methods, and b) on comparisons of abundances predicted by models of…
To explain grain growth and destruction in warm media, ice mantle formation and sublimation in cold media, and gas line emission spectroscopy, astrochemical models must mimic the gas--solid abundance ratio. Ice-sublimation mechanisms…
A key result of hydrogravitational dynamics cosmology relevant to astrobiology is the early formation of vast numbers of hot primordial-gas planets in million-solar-mass clumps as the dark matter of galaxies and the hosts of first life.…
With the Cassini-Huygens Mission in orbit around Saturn, the large moon Titan, with its reducing atmosphere, rich organic chemistry, and heterogeneous surface, moves into the astrobiological spotlight. Environmental conditions on Titan and…
Ice nucleation and growth are critical in many fields, including atmospheric science, cryobiology, and aviation. However, understanding the detailed mechanisms of ice crystal growth remains challenging. In this work, crystallization at the…
The search for signs of life through the detection of exoplanet atmosphere biosignature gases is gaining momentum. Yet, only a handful of rocky exoplanet atmospheres are suitable for observation with planned next-generation telescopes. To…
A long-standing issue in astrobiology is whether planets orbiting the most abundant type of stars, M-dwarfs, can support liquid water and eventually life. A new study shows that subglacial melting may provide an answer, significantly…
Ice crystals growing in highly supersaturated air at temperatures near -5 C exhibit a distinctive, nonplanar dendritic morphology that has not been previously documented or explained. We examine this structure and identify its most…
The structure of polar liquids and electrolytic solutions, such as water and aqueous electrolytes, at interfaces underlies numerous phenomena in physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. In this work, we develop a continuum theory that…
The interstellar medium is characterized by a rich and diverse chemistry. Many of its complex organic molecules are proposed to form through radical chemistry in icy grain mantles. Radicals form readily when interstellar ices (composed of…
There is increasing evidence that mammalian cells not only crawl on substrates but can also swim in fluids. To elucidate the mechanisms of the onset of motility of cells in suspension, a model which couples actin and myosin kinetics to…
The existence of intelligent, interstellar traveling and colonising life is a key assumption behind the Fermi Paradox. Until recently, detecting signs of life elsewhere has been so technically challenging as to seem almost impossible.…
We have investigated the formation of 10-50 mm long ``ice spikes'' that sometimes appear on the free surface of water when it solidifies. By freezing water under different conditions, we measured the probability of ice spike formation as a…
Water ice is expected to be the dominant volatile component of bodies formed in the outer Solar System. However, recent observations of comets and trans-Neptunian objects suggest that the relative abundances of ices can vary substantially,…
Using statistical field theory supplemented with molecular dynamics simulations, we consider premelting on the surface of ice as a generic consequence of broken hydrogen bonds at the boundary between the condensed and gaseous phases. A…
Hypotheses: The aggregation number and length of spherocylindrical (rodlike, wormlike) micelles in solutions of an ionic surfactant and salt can be predicted knowing the molecular parameters and the input concentrations of the species. This…
It has been proposed that during the early steps in the origin of life, small droplets could have formed via the segregation of molecules from complex mixtures by phase separation. These droplets could have provided chemical reaction…
The multifarious internal workings of organisms are difficult to reconcile with a single feature defining a state of being alive. Indeed, definitions of life rely on emergent properties (growth, capacity to evolve, agency) only symptomatic…
CO is thought to be a vital building block for prebiotic molecules that are necessary for life. Thus, understanding where CO existed in a solid phase within the solar nebula is important for understanding the origin of life. We model the…