Computations in thermodynamics suggest that 10 out of the 20 known amino acids that form proteins in life on Earth would also be the same ones used in extraterrestrial carbon-based life.
Observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope indicate that the chemistry on planets formed around cooler stars is different. In particular, cooler star disks showed no indication of the presence of hydrogen cyanide around them.
A robot makes its own scientific discoveries as it designs hypotheses and carries out experiments to confirm them, discovering which genes code for specific enzymes in a species of yeast.
