*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************
Don’t laugh off the potential value in finding nitrous oxide (N2O) in space atmospheres—scientists say the laughing gas could be a key biosignature in the search for life beyond our own planet. In a paper published earlier this month in The Astrophysical Journal, researchers say we’ve focused plenty on oxygen and methane as biosignatures, but skipping out on nitrous oxide “may be a mistake.” Researchers used simulations to show that with different stars from the sun we know and love, the biosignature search could well include N2O. One of those researchers is Chris Reinhard, associate professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
