People: Astrobiology Graduate Students

Kyle Costa
Microbiology

I am a first year graduate student in the Department of Microbiology at the UW. I did my undergraduate work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas studying biology. I first became interested in microbiology and astrobiology when I began to realize the wide array of conditions in which microorganisms thrive. Microbes dominate our planet historically and numerically, and they thrive nearly every environment of Earth. In fact, it is rather difficult to find a naturally occurring, sterile environment on our planet. Because of these characteristics, microbial life should be easier to detect in extraplanetary environments.

In order to understand the conditions under which organisms can thrive, it is important to identify the boundaries of life as we know it. Microorganisms thrive in a wide range of habitats, and studying these organisms can give astrobiologists an idea of the possible conditions capable of supporting life. My primary interest with astrobiology is to study how microorganisms interact with and influence the environment. I am specifically interested in studying how microorganisms affect geochemical cycles. One of the ways in which scientists might detect life elsewhere is by looking for evidence of biological influence on these cycles.