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exobiology

exobiology

4 9.9
Study of life beyond Earth and how space affects living things
  • noun
  • /ˌɛksoʊbaɪˈɑlədʒi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : exobiología
  • This work was supported by grants from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Exobiology Program (EXB02-0042-0054) to L. A. L. and Z. G. C., from the National Science Foundation (DEB-0529737) to L. A. L., and from the University of Connecticut Research Foundation to Z. G. C.
  • NASA Exobiology
  • Exobiology Program

Examples

  • He was a hobbyist and a crackpot, and possibly the worst thing to happen to exobiology since the shitdogs ate their landers.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • But those rockets would have been built and paid for regardless, and put to even more problematical applications if exobiology had not been on the table.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Let's see what they pulled out of this exobiology Extant Life Surveyor.

  • I also hold degrees in Ethnobotany, Exobiology, and Exoanthropology.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • I've got a doctorate in exobiology!

    Fiction book (1999)
  • She came here originally to study the Bodoites, as a graduate student in exobiology.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • It stands for Exobiology, Extant Life Surveyor.

  • I've got three thesis advisees backed up outside my door and no time to waste giving you a crash course in exobiology.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • I suppose exobiology wasn't a surprising career choice for somebody with a seeker of primal truths in place of one parent and a student of the sign language of animals in place of the other.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The scientists conducted experiments in exobiology to understand how life might exist on Mars.

Synonyms

astrobiology
vsexobiology
  • Specialized
4 7.7

Study of life outside Earth and how space changes living things

focuses specifically on life beyond Earth and outer space effects
xenobiology
vsexobiology
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Study of life not like life on Earth, for example alien life or life made in a lab

concentrates on natural life beyond Earth and effects of outer space
space biology
vsexobiology
  • Specialized
5.5

Study of how outer space affects living things and search for life elsewhere

also covers life beyond Earth as well as those space effects

How Specialized

xenobiology
  • Specialized
1 9.9
exobiology
  • Specialized
4 9.9
astrobiology
  • Specialized
4 7.7
space biology
  • Specialized
5.5
biology
251 2.5

Surface Forms

exobiology singular
exobiologies plural

Morphology

exobiology = biology (transparent) = exo + biology

The word is clearly formed by the productive prefix 'exo-' meaning 'outside' attached to the existing noun 'biology', yielding 'the study of life outside Earth'.

Etymology

Exobiology starts with exo- meaning 'outside' and has bio meaning 'life', the same bio you see in biology and biography. So, exobiology is the study of life 'outside' Earth.