Danny Glavin
@meteordannyg.bsky.social
Astrobiologist and Senior Scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; author of Frozen in Time: Hunting Meteorites in Antarctica for Signs of Life; enjoys spending time with family, memories of surfing in California, golfing, and the Fall in Maryland.
Some exciting new martian organic detections by the SAM instrument on the Curiosity rover exploring Gale crater, Mars. Congratulations to Amy Williams and everyone else on the team for achieving this major mission milestone! www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasas-c...
NASA’s Curiosity Finds Organic Molecules Never Seen Before on Mars
Seven organic molecules were identified for the first time on Mars, increasing our understanding of the kinds of molecular preservation possible on the Martian surface.
jpl.nasa.gov
Congratulations to Yasuhiro Oba and the OSIRIS-REx science team on this exciting new paper published today in Nature Communications Chemistry on the formation of nucleobases (the components of the genetic code in life) in samples from asteroid Bennu! www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Distribution of extraterrestrial nucleobases, other N-heterocycles, and their precursors in a sample from asteroid Bennu - Communications Chemistry
The presence of all canonical nucleobases in samples from Bennu has previously provided evidence that some of life’s ingredients were synthesized abiotically in the parent body of this asteroid and/or...
nature.com
Congress rejected massive cuts to US science budgets for 2026, but much of the money still isn’t flowing to researchers. The culprit? The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is quietly slow-walking the release of funds. 🧵👇
White House stalls release of approved US science budgets
The US Congress rejected sweeping cuts to science agencies. But the NIH, the NSF and NASA have had their spending slowed.
nature.com
www.nationalgeographic.com/science/arti...
This asteroid is spilling secrets about the origin of life on Earth
Grab-and-go missions to asteroids have provided some of the most scientifically valuable samples since the Apollo missions—and they’re shaking up the search for life beyond Earth.
nationalgeographic.com
This should be an interesting NOVA PBS episode about asteroids and the origin of life premiering on January 21. www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vi...
Asteroids: Spark of Life?
What if violent asteroid impacts actually jump-started life on Earth? Explore a dramatic theory.
pbs.org
Thank you @captmarkkelly.bsky.social for sharing your excitement about the recent results from NASA's OSIRIS-Rex asteroid sample return mission! We are rewriting the textbooks on asteroid science and our understanding of the possibility of life elsewhere. ca.news.yahoo.com/mark-kelly-s...
Mark Kelly Says This 'Exciting' Scientific Find Raises Questions Of Life Beyond Earth
NASA said the discovery shows such "building blocks" of life are "widespread throughout the solar system."
ca.news.yahoo.com
Exciting new results from asteroid Bennu published today in Nature including new clues about the origin of the chemical building blocks of life! www.nasa.gov/missions/osi...
Sugars, ‘Gum,’ Stardust Found in NASA's Asteroid Bennu Samples - NASA
The asteroid Bennu continues to provide new clues to scientists’ biggest questions about the formation of the early solar system and the origins of life. As
nasa.gov
Another major scientific discovery from asteroid Bennu samples returned by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission published today in Nature Geoscience. And this one is particularly sweet! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Bio-essential sugars in samples from asteroid Bennu - Nature Geoscience
Samples returned from asteroid Bennu contain bio-essential sugars such as ribose and glucose that may have formed in the parent asteroid from brines containing formaldehyde, according to a geochemical...
nature.com
A gift that keeps on giving! One step closer to understanding how the chemical building blocks of life were formed in space. Congratulations to Angel Mojarro and the entire OSIRIS-REx team for making this discovery possible! www.cnn.com/2025/11/27/s...
Scientists find evidence that an asteroid contains tryptophan | CNN
An essential amino acid that is mistakenly believed to cause drowsiness after eating turkey has been found in an asteroid for the first time, giving scientists clues to the origin of life on Earth.
cnn.com
Check out these exciting new results from asteroid Bennu samples published in PNAS today by Angel Mojarro, a member of the Astrobiology Analytical Lab at NASA Goddard! Prebiotic organic compounds in samples of asteroid Bennu indicate heterogeneous aqueous alteration www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Prebiotic organic compounds in samples of asteroid Bennu indicate heterogeneous aqueous alteration | PNAS
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission characterized the asteroid Bennu and delivered pristine samples of its regolith to Earth. Coordinated analyses of this pr...
pnas.org
For anyone studying organics in extraterrestrial samples, consider submitting an abstract to the session I am co-convening at AbSciCon. The conference will be in Madison, WI on May 17-22, 2026. Submission deadline: January 14. For more details, visit the session link: agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon...
Prebiotic Organic Chemistry in Solar System and their Role in the Emergence of Life on the early Earth
This session will focus on the organic molecules in samples from the primitive bodies, such as asteroids, meteorites, and cometary dust particles, relevant to the origin and evolution of life. Recent ...
agu.confex.com
Check out Behind the Wings 'Unlocking Asteroid Secrets' which will air on PBS later this month. An excellent summary of NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission including some science discoveries from the Astrobiology Analytical Lab at Goddard share.google/A9Ve47s2dE0V...
Behind The Wings | Unlocking Asteroid Secrets | Season 7 | Episode 4
Explore how NASA's OSIRIS-Rex may change our understanding of our place in the universe.
share.google
Great study and paper led by Maria-Paz Zorzano increasing the likelihood that biosignatures could be preserved in Mars surface rocks despite exposure to ionizing radiation for tens of millions of years. Can DNA survive on Mars? | Research Communities by Springer Nature share.google/2MgxSlXyq3YA...
Can DNA survive on Mars?
Simulating over 100 million years of Martian surface radiation on ancient Earth rocks, we recovered readable DNA fragments and microbiome fingerprints—insights that sharpen how we’ll search Mars rock ...
share.google
Maybe life on Mars could be preserved in a frozen state in the martian permafrost. We should send a life detection mission to find out. www.space.com/astronomy/ma...
If life on Mars exists, it may be preserved in a frozen time capsule
Experiments show that biomolecules trapped in pure ice could withstand the harsh radiation of Mars for tens of millions of years.
space.com
A message from JPL Director Dave Gallagher announces a JPL layoff of 500 people has been announced that is "not related to the current government shutdown". www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/jpl-wor...
JPL Workforce Update
A message from JPL Director Dave Gallagher
jpl.nasa.gov
Don’t forget: protest tomorrow outside of NASA HQ in Washington DC! Speakers will be out from 12-1pm. See you there! #nasaneedshelp #protest #washingtondc
astrobiology.com/2025/08/slow...
Slow Radiolysis of Amino Acids in Mars-Like Permafrost Conditions: Applications to the Search for Extant Life on Mars - Astrobiology
Future missions dedicated to the search for extant life on Mars will require a clear understanding of the organic biosignature degradation processes in the shallow icy subsurface.
astrobiology.com
Meet Syn57, a living cell that only needs 57 codons, not the standard 64. Here's my story on how synthetic biology is tackling the mystery of our bloated genetic code. Gift link: nyti.ms/3Hf4f9v
Scientists are Learning to Rewrite the Code of Life
In a giant feat of genetic engineering, scientists have created bacteria that make proteins in a radically different way than all natural species do.
nyti.ms
Sotheby's in New York will be auctioning the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth.
The biggest piece of Mars on Earth is going up for auction in New York
Sotheby's in New York will be auctioning the largest piece of Mars ever found on Earth.
n.pr
‘It’s a nightmare.’ U.S. funding cuts threaten academic science jobs at all levels | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
‘It’s a nightmare.’ U.S. funding cuts threaten academic science jobs at all levels
“There is a lot of pressure to essentially leave the country or not pursue research,” one Ph.D. student says
science.org