Very valuable information can be obtained by studying surface chemical abundances in stars with orbiting planets. Possible interactions between extrasolar planets and their parent stars can be studied using light elements as lithium and beryllium, which are excellent tracers of mixing mechanisms operating in the stellar interior. A wide sample of

We present a study of beryllium (Be) abundances in a large sample of field solar-type dwarfs and sub-giants spanning a large range of effective temperatures. The Be abundances, computed using a very uniform set of stellar parameters and near-UV spectra obtained with 3 different instruments, are used to study the depletion of this light element. The

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Biological air filtration is a promising technique for air-quality control in closed environments in space and on Earth, and it offers several advantages over existing techniques. However, to apply it in these environments, specific criteria have to be met. A concept for biological air filtration in closed environments was developed and tested by

Transiting planet systems offer a unique opportunity to observationally constrain proposed models of the interiors (radius, composition) and atmospheres (chemistry, dynamics) of extrasolar planets. The spectacular successes of ground-based transit surveys (more than 60 transiting systems known to-date) and the host of multi-wavelength, spectro