Astrobiology

Astrobiology is an interdisciplinary field, combining aspects of astronomy, biology and geology, which considers the question of whether extraterrestrial life exists and if so, then what are its origin, distribution, and evolution. It comes from the Greek words astron = star, bios = life and logos = word/science), and is also known as exobiology (Greek: exo = out) or xenobiology (Greek: xenos = foreign).

Related Topics:
Astronomy - Biology - Geology - Extraterrestrial life - Origin - Evolution - Greek

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Some major astrobiological research topics include:

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• What is life?
• How did life arise on Earth?
• What kind of environments can life tolerate?
• Can we detect life on other planets?

Exobiology and xenobiology are terms also found in science fiction, although typically such terms refer to the speculative biology of an extraterrestrial. A xenobiologist is usually a human doctor or biologist who is expert on the physiology of alien organisms and life forms.

Related Topics:
Science fiction - Extraterrestrial - Doctor - Biologist - Physiology

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Astrobiology: Overview ►