Trump Signs Executive Order to Boost AI Research in Childhood Cancer 
SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates 
FDA Lifts REMS Requirement for CAR-T Cell Cancer Therapies 
CDC Vaccine Review Sparks Controversy Over Thimerosal Study Citation 
Astronomers have discovered another puzzling interstellar object − this third one is big, bright and fast 
Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission 
Trump and Merck KGaA Partner to Slash IVF Drug Costs and Expand Fertility Coverage 
NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern 
SpaceX Starship Explodes in Texas During Test, Citing Nitrogen Tank Failure 
Neuralink Expands Brain Implant Trials with 12 Global Patients 
Is space worth the cost? Accounting experts say its value can’t be found in spreadsheets 
Neuren Pharmaceuticals Surges on U.S. Patent Win for Rare Disorder Drug 
SpaceX’s Starship Completes 11th Test Flight, Paving Way for Moon and Mars Missions 
Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment 
One of the biggest mysteries in the world is whether or not there is life beyond Earth or if we are alone in the universe. A recent discovery in a glacier may further add weight to whether there is alien life out there.
Researchers from Montana State University found that there are processes that can support basic forms of life under glaciers. Analyzing data from icy habitats all over the world, the findings show that these processes can help determine the role these organisms have in creating life through time. The researchers believe that a similar process may help support life in planets that may not have the most hospitable of environments.
The study examined how water and microbes interact with the bedrock under the glaciers. The researchers used samples obtained from glacial sites like Canada and Iceland for their study. This was where they found a type of organism also referred to as an extremophile -- organisms that can thrive in extreme conditions such as boiling water, acid, nuclear reactor cores as well as toxic waste.
“We kept finding organisms in these systems that were supported by hydrogen gas,” said Doctoral candidate Eric Dunham of MSU. “It initially didn’t make sense because we couldn’t figure out where that hydrogen gas was coming from under these glaciers.”
The researchers later found how the hydrogen was formed, through physical and chemical processes as the silica-filled bedrock under the glaciers is crushed by the ice into mineral particles. Combining these mineral particles with glacial meltwater, hydrogen is formed and the microbial communities under the ice could harvest the hydrogen gas and combine it with carbon dioxide to produce biomass.
At the same time, NASA has updated amateur alien hunters with more information on the odds of being able to find life outside Earth. Astronomers have usually utilized the Drake equation to determine how many advanced civilizations there may be in the universe. Today, NASA along with researchers from the California Institute of Technology and Santiago High School has given an updated form of the Drake equation for budding astronomers to be able to calculate the odds more accurately.
The updated form makes use of the essential equation but with added factors such as the possibility of species killing each other off and the rate of abiogenesis throughout the universe.
