{"658234":{"#nid":"658234","#data":{"type":"news","title":"NASA Astrobiology Unveils New Research Coordination Network at AbSciCon 2022","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis release first published in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\u0022\u003ENASA.gov\u003C\/a\u003E newsroom:\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/nasa-astrobiology-unveils-new-research-coordination-network-at-abscicon-2022\u0022\u003ENASA\u0027s Astrobiology program has announced its newest Research Coordination Network\u003C\/a\u003E (RCN)\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003E\u2018LIFE: Early Cells to Multicellularity,\u2019\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/em\u003Ebringing together a collaboration of researchers from around the world that will spend the next five years investigating the earliest biological processes and the evolution of life into more complex organisms.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe new RCN was officially launched today at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.agu.org\/AbSciCon\u0022\u003E2022 Astrobiology Science Conference\u003C\/a\u003E, hosted by the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. The field of astrobiology seeks to understand how life originated and evolved on Earth so we can search for life elsewhere in the universe.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ENASA\u2019s RCNs are virtual collaboration structures designed to support groups of investigators to communicate and coordinate their research across disciplinary, organizational, divisional, and geographic boundaries.\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe LIFE RCN is co-led by the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison\u2019s Bet\u00fcl Ka\u00e7ar, alongside Georgia Institute of Technology\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/frank-rosenzweig\u0022\u003EFrank Rosenzweig\u003C\/a\u003E, Arizona State University\u2019s Ariel Anbar, and University of California Riverside\u2019s Mary Droser.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cLIFE will discern rules of co-evolution (between organisms and their environment) that will enable us to predict how life could evolve on worlds other than our own, and how we might search for it,\u201d said Ka\u00e7ar. \u201cWe know that the journey from single cells to multicellularity relied on critical environmental and biological innovations.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EOne of five cross-divisional networks, RCNs are inherently crosscutting and focus on interdisciplinary science questions. LIFE joins:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cul\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/nexss.info\/about\/about-nexss\u0022\u003ENexus for Exoplanet System Science\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(NExSS) focuses on the study and characterization of planets with the greatest potential for signs of life.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nfold.org\/\u0022\u003ENetwork for Life Detection\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(NfoLD) investigates life detection research, including biosignature creation and preservation, as well as related technology development.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003EPrebiotic Chemistry and Early Earth Environments (\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/prebioticchem.info\/\u0022\u003EPCE3\u003C\/a\u003E) Consortium strives to transform the origins of life community by breaking down language and ideological barriers and enhancing communication across the disciplinary divide between early earth geoscientists and prebiotic chemists.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\t\u003Cli\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/oceanworlds.space\/\u0022\u003ENetwork for Ocean Worlds\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;advances comparative studies to characterize Earth and other ocean worlds across their interiors, oceans, and cryospheres; to investigate their habitability; to search for biosignatures; and to understand life\u2014in relevant ocean world analogues and beyond.\u003C\/li\u003E\r\n\u003C\/ul\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAstrobiology has been a part of NASA since its inception and is the focus of a growing number of NASA\u2019s science missions,\u201d said Mary Voytek, senior scientist for NASA\u2019s Astrobiology Program. \u201cWe are excited for the important work that members of our LIFE RCN will accomplish in support of NASA\u2019s objective to understand the distribution of life beyond Earth.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe goal of NASA\u2019s Astrobiology Program is the study of the origins, evolution, and distribution of life in the Universe. The Program is central to NASA\u2019s continued exploration of our solar system and beyond and supports research into the origin and early evolution of life, the potential of life to adapt to different environments, and the implications for life elsewhere. NASA, together with the science community, has developed an\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/astrobiology.nasa.gov\/research\/astrobiology-at-nasa\/astrobiology-strategy\/\u0022\u003EAstrobiology Strategy\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;that describes the scientific goals and objectives of NASA\u2019s Astrobiology Program.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ELearn more: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/astrobiology.nasa.gov\/\u0022\u003Eastrobiology.nasa.gov\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"School of Biological Sciences\u0027 Frank Rosenzweig to co-lead \u0022LIFE: Early Cells to Multicellularity\u0022 Astrobiology Research Coordination Network"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrank Rosenzweig, professor in the School of Biological Sciences and Georgia Tech Astrobiology faculty member, will serve as co-leader of\u0026nbsp;the NASA Astrobiology Research Coordination Network, \u003Cem\u003E\u0027LIFE: Early Cells to Multicellularity.\u0027 \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Frank Rosenzweig, professor in the School of Biological Sciences and Georgia Tech Astrobiology faculty member, will serve as co-leader of the NASA Astrobiology Research Coordination Network, \u0022LIFE: Early Cells to Multicellularity.\u0022"}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2022-05-16 15:15:06","changed_gmt":"2024-02-15 21:24:54","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-05-16T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2022-05-16T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"658238":{"id":"658238","type":"image","title":"Former College of Sciences postdoctoral fellow Bet\u00fcl Ka\u00e7ar (left) is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. (Photo NASA: Jeff Miller)","body":null,"created":"1652714736","gmt_created":"2022-05-16 15:25:36","changed":"1652714736","gmt_changed":"2022-05-16 15:25:36","alt":"","file":{"fid":"249513","name":"kacar betul.jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kacar%20betul.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kacar%20betul.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":504686,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kacar%20betul.jpeg?itok=0pTBtMtY"}},"627775":{"id":"627775","type":"image","title":"Frank Rosenzweig","body":null,"created":"1571410329","gmt_created":"2019-10-18 14:52:09","changed":"1571410329","gmt_changed":"2019-10-18 14:52:09","alt":"","file":{"fid":"239047","name":"Frank.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Frank.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Frank.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2511963,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Frank.jpg?itok=m4-x_GvO"}},"658248":{"id":"658248","type":"image","title":"Petri dishes containing cultures of ancient DNA molecules are pictured in the research lab of Bet\u00fcl Ka\u00e7ar, assistant professor of bacteriology, in the Microbial Sciences Building at the University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison on Oct. 21, 2021. (Jeff Miller)","body":null,"created":"1652724518","gmt_created":"2022-05-16 18:08:38","changed":"1652724518","gmt_changed":"2022-05-16 18:08:38","alt":"","file":{"fid":"249522","name":"kacar_betul_lab21_1314.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kacar_betul_lab21_1314.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/kacar_betul_lab21_1314.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":132946,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/kacar_betul_lab21_1314.jpg?itok=cjDHSiRY"}}},"media_ids":["658238","627775","658248"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/coe.gatech.edu\/news\/2022\/05\/evolution-astrobiology","title":"Feature: An Evolution of Astrobiology  "},{"url":"https:\/\/www.agu.org\/AbSciCon","title":"2022 AbSciCon"},{"url":"https:\/\/astrobiology.gatech.edu","title":"Georgia Tech Astrobiology "}],"groups":[{"id":"620089","name":"Center for Microbial Dynamics and Infection (CMDI)"},{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"188231","name":"CMDI"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"123971","name":"Frank Rosenzweig"},{"id":"175345","name":"Georgia Tech Astrobiology"},{"id":"190624","name":"2022 AbSciCon"},{"id":"365","name":"Research"},{"id":"722","name":"Astrobiology"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jess@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences at Georgia Tech\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERenay San Miguel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer II\/Science Writer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences at Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-894-5209\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jess@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}