The Alternative Earths team participated in force, with many speakers and attendees, at this year's Astrobiology Science Conference, which took place in Mesa, Arizona. The week-long event featured talks in interdisciplinary research fields, from genetics to geochemistry and habitability.

Research highlights from the recent 'Astrobiology' paper were featured in 'Inside Science' last week. 'There are huge swaths of time throughout Earth’s history during which it would’ve been difficult to see the presence of these metabolisms even though we know from the rock record that they were around. It’s a sobering thing,' Reinhard told 'Inside...