Ciencia Vecina (capítulo 11): La vida más allá del planeta Tierra… ¿realidad o ciencia ficción?

About this Video

• Video Title: Ciencia Vecina (capítulo 11): La vida más allá del planeta Tierra… ¿realidad o ciencia ficción?
• Channel: Comunidad Científica Paravachasca
• Speakers: Cecilia Mleki
• Duration: 00:31:13

Introduction

This video features a discussion on astrobiology, a relatively new scientific field studying the origin, distribution, and evolution of life in the universe. Dr. Cecilia Mleki, a biologist and CONICET researcher, explains the field, its methods, and her research using Earth's extreme environments (like the Puna de Argentina and Chile) as analogs for extraterrestrial life research.

Key Takeaways

• Astrobiology: The study of life's origin, distribution, and evolution across the universe. It draws from astronomy, biology, chemistry, and physics.
• Biosignatures: Gases like methane and oxygen can be indicators of microbial life on other planets. The presence of these gases suggests metabolic activity.
• Earth Analogs: Dr. Mleki uses extreme environments on Earth (e.g., the Puna region) to study microbial life in conditions similar to those potentially found on other planets. These environments offer insights into how life might survive under harsh conditions.
• Stromatolites: Ancient and modern stromatolites (rock formations created by microbial activity) serve as valuable tools to study past and present microbial life and their biosignatures. Studying these formations helps researchers understand potential biosignatures in samples from other planets.
• Research Methods: Dr. Mleki's research involves fieldwork in extreme environments, DNA extraction and sequencing, bioinformatic analysis, and confocal microscopy to study microbial communities and their interaction with minerals in stromatolites. This research is directly applicable to analyzing samples from other planets.