Winter 2014

Johns Hopkins biologist Jocelyne DiRuggiero and other researchers pon­der our cosmic context via a new prism shaped not only by our lack of centrality but by the dis­covery of planets light-years away and, on Earth, bizarre sulfur-based organisms that flourish in extreme environments. Scientists in astronomy, biology, astrophysics, geology, planetary science, chemistry, and other disciplines are pursuing a new wave of science that probes a deep and very old question: "Is there life beyond Earth?" "Our solar system is part of a beautiful galaxy, the Milky Way, that is just one among billions of galaxies in the universe," she told the audience at a recent symposium titled "Habitable Worlds Across Time and Space." "The idea that we might not be alone in the universe is one of the most exciting scientific questions of our time." / Johns Hopkins Magazine