Algae grown under Mars-like conditions could make bioplastic building materials for structures to harbor life in space.

In 1985, graphic novelist Alison Bechdel came up with criteria for whether she'd watch a movie. It's become known as the Bechdel test, and it's surprisingly hard for films to pass these days.

“Measuring stellar surface gravities well has always been a difficult business,” added Gibor Basri, professor of astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley, who contributed to the study.