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Can life emerge on a planet without water? New theory says yes

Mother Nature Network: Researchers searching for life on other planets have always believed that there is at least one necessary requirement for life to exist: There must be water. But a new theory by astrobiologists Nediljko Budisa and Dirk Schulze-Makuch suggests that there are alternatives to water that could make life possible even on desert worlds, reports io9.com. It's an exciting idea. If the theory is correct, then the number of planets believed capable of supporting life would increase dramatically. The reason...

North Pole melts, forms lake at top of the world

Mother Nature Network: If this image (above) doesn't scare you about effects of global warming, you must have icewater in your veins. Yes, that's the North Pole. It's now a lake. The photo is part of a time lapse recently released by the North Pole Environmental Observatory, a research group funded by the National Science Foundation that has been monitoring the state of Arctic sea ice since 2000. The shallow lake began forming on July 13th after an especially warm month, which saw temperatures rise 1-3 degrees Celsius...