I am delighted to announce that I have accepted the offer, and I am headed to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences @NorthwesternU this fall for my PhD. I am joining Prof. Magdalena Osburn's research group to explore #geobiology & #astrobiology. This a dream come true!

My microbe sci-fi story got featured in the @abgradcon special issue of @birdymagazine . This is my first time being published in print – so quite special! Do check out the online version (page 25) publizr.com/birdymagazine/ab… #astrobiology #scifi #microbes

Many months back @strayologist got some tardigrades from @SandeepME_IISc's lab and put them in our MARS chamber (good name? :D) and then was able to wake them up to perfect health a few days later. See video taken under a microscope. Humans may not survive Mars but they might

"Microscopic animals glow in the dark to survive radiation" - amazing work from @SandeepME_IISc which was published a few years ago. Now some of these microscopic beasts are heading to ISS sciworthy.com/microscopic-an…

SpaDeX Docking Update: 🌟Docking Success Spacecraft docking successfully completed! A historic moment. Let’s walk through the SpaDeX docking process: Manoeuvre from 15m to 3m hold point completed. Docking initiated with precision, leading to successful spacecraft capture. Retraction completed smoothly, followed by rigidisation for stability. Docking successfully completed. India became the 4th country to achieve successful Space Docking. Congratulations to the entire team! Congratulations to India! 🛰️🛰️ #SPADEX #ISRO

Leaves have emerged! 🌱 VSSC's CROPS (Compact Research Module for Orbital Plant Studies) aboard PSLV-C60 POEM-4 achieves a milestone as cowpea sprouts unveil their first leaves in space. 🚀 #ISRO #BiologyInSpace #POEM4

India has entered the #SpaceBiology chat.

Here's a paper I wrote for Space Policy on planetary parks. I think they would solve a lot of problems by bringing diverse protection motivations (scientific, heritage, aesthetic, etc) under a single structure - and free up everywhere else. sciencedirect.com/science/ar….

Any goescience/biology students looking for an exciting PhD, consider applying for this with @ASprae and myself. Impact hydrothermal studies. Deadline early January 6th 2025 deadline. e4-dtp.ed.ac.uk/e5-dtp/super…

🧬🚀Thrilled to share our new paper on Neobacillus driksii—a fascinating bacterial strain discovered in the Mars 2020 spacecraft assembly facility, with unique lasso peptide production potential! journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128… @IBSE_IITM @WSAI_IITM @iitmbt @iitmadras #Microbiology

Join us tomorrow for an all new Ask an Astrobiologist, featuring Dr. Penny Boston! We're gonna talk about caves, life, art, science, and far more 🚀 youtube.com/watch?v=lzuBEite…

Helping define the United States’ scientific strategy for human exploration of Mars! ❤️

📢 New review paper, out in advance @AnnualReviews ➡️ Reconstructing ancient metabolisms: annualreviews.org/content/jo… #AnnualReviews #Microbiology #Paleobiology #EarlyLife

I had never thought what goes into proposing a cover art for a science journal. Having gone through it now, I wrote a blog post to share my experience as a scientist and to describe the beauties of working with a good idea & a talented graphics designer: merenlab.org/2024/09/22/evol…

Our home planet has some extreme environments! Studying those places can help inform our missions searching for life elsewhere. From the lava fields of Iceland to the undersea volcanoes of Santorini, follow NASA scientists as they explore Our Alien Earth: go.nasa.gov/3Xlg2bE

It's going down! Astrobiology friends, please watch, share, like, email your governor, and call your mom to tell them about Our Alien Earth, my new #astrobiology fieldwork documentary series, now streaming on #NASA ! ⛓️plus.nasa.gov/series/our-ali…

Nothing compares to the joy of reading classic/old molecular biology papers and admiring the experimental designs. Simply elegant!

Tardigrades, the seemingly indestructible "water bears," have earned the title of "toughest animals on Earth." But are they tough enough to survive on Mars? New article by @earthlifespace sciworthy.com/could-tardigra…

In the most recent Astrobiology Revealed, Dr. Aubrey Zerkle spoke with Dr. Nita Sahai about her paper “Bioenergetics of iron snow fueling life on Europa.” saganet.org/articles/astrobi…

We've had a slight break in #AskAstrobio programming, but will be coming back soon with more astrobiologists and more awesome episodes for all of you!