When Microbes Move In
A team working high in the Peruvian Andes has discovered how microbes swiftly colonize barren soils uncovered by melting glaciers. The study shows how microbes are able to establish themselves in one of Earth's most extreme environments, and how these unique organisms are adapting to climate change.

Mini-Sub for Small Spaces
New from the Nordic issue of Astrobiology Magazine, European Edition is a story about a tiny submarine. Swedish researchers are developing a remote-controlled submersible that can fit through drilled holes in thick ice caps, and this technology could be a forerunner to probes that may one day venture to Jupiter's moon Europa.

Prolonged Precipitation
A new study suggests that recurrent floods carved valley networks on Mars during a long period of time when the climate of Mars resembled arid regions on Earth. The study is an important step toward understanding the potential for past life on the Red Planet.

Solar Shift
Forty years ago, strange oxygen isotopes in a meteorite were found to be different than any known planetary rock � including those from Earth and Mars. Scientists are getting closer to solving the riddle, and providing new information about the early solar system in the process.

Looking for Life on Mars � in a Canadian Lake
At first glance, Pavilion Lake, in British Columbia, looks like just another idyllic vacation spot. But beneath its surface lie some of the most unusual carbonate formations on Earth. Unusual enough that, this summer, researchers hauled a pair of miniature submarines up the lake to find out whether or not bacteria were involved in building the distinctive structures.

Cometary Missing Link
Scientists have identified an interesting solar system object whose orbit is backwards around the sun and which may help us understand the origin of certain comets. The finding also could yield clues about the early solar system.

Earth's Cosmic Dust
The origin of microscopic meteorites in cosmic dust has been revealed. A new study shows that some of the cosmic dust constantly falling to Earth originates from the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars.

What Came First: Viruses or Cells?
A new computational method for tracing the evolution of proteins may help scientists determine how life on Earth began�and solve the question of whether or not viruses developed before living cells.

A Warm Breath of Carbon Dioxide
When the sun was young, it didn't produce enough heat to unfreeze ice on our planet. So why was the early Earth covered in liquid water and not ice?

Lukewarm Supervolcano
Yellowstone is known for its hot springs and geysers, and the unique forms of life that inhabit them. Scientists are now learning more about the mysterious 'supervolcano' that powers these environments, and whether or not the giant could erupt again.