If Threonine and Aspartate are Detected on Europa, They Must Have Been Recently Generated

Important paper for detecting biosignatures elsewhere in the solar system. Truong et al measure the decomposition rate of amino acids in conditions mimicking the under-ice oceans of Europa or Enceladus. Using that data, they infer whether any amino acids detected there are leftovers from early abiotic chemistry, or must have resulted from a more recent process. In particular threonine and aspartate are unstable over time and if detected at concentrations greater than 1 nM, they must have been generated recently. Click through to the paper below.

Truong N, Monroe AA, Glein CR, Anbar AD, Lunine JI. Decomposition of Amino Acids in Water with Application to In-Situ Measurements of Enceladus, Europa and Other Hydrothermally Active Icy Ocean Worlds. arXiv:1904.04407 [astro-ph.EP]

Warm Spot on Europa Produces Plume

Image credit space.com

Current explanations for this warm plume (in fact, authors refer to it as a hotspot) are thermal inertia (basically, having higher specific heat than surrounding areas and so retaining heat longer than surrounding areas) or more excitingly, subsurface geologic activity - which would have implications for the evolution of life. Blog post here, paper here.

Trumbo SK, Brown ME, Butler BJ. ALMA Thermal Observations of a Proposed Plume Source Region on Europa. The Astronomical Journal, Volume 154, Number 4.

The Evidence - 2013 Metal Versions of Synchronicity II (The Police, Synchronicity, 1983) and Pressure (Billy Joel, The Nylon Curtain, 1982)

I've always thought that both of these uncharacteristically intense (for eighties "adult contemporary") and well-written songs would hold up well to a metal or hard rock treatment. Synchronicity II has that great phrygian progression at the end and with the perfect fifth intervals anticipates later-eighties metal. Apparently I'm not the only one who has thought this, because They do, in the capable hands of The Evidence. Side note: The Evidence hails from Calgary, Alberta, and this fact will not surprise you if you've been through there. The sheer per capita rate of solid metal and rock bands from southern Alberta is amazing.

(More metal versions of 80s songs here.)

Molecules with MW > 200 Found in Enceladus Vapor

That's bigger than all amino acids and nucleobases. (Note, 9 months old, I had missed this before.) Press release here, paper here. (Postberg et al, Nature. 2018 Jun; 558(7711): 564–568.)