![Retrieved temperature, mixing ratios, and haze parameters from all three retrieval set ups. Left: Retrieved volume mixing ratios for all three retrieval cases shown at the approximate depth of the haze layer. Right: Haze opacity in dashed lines and temperature in solid lines as a function of pressure and altitude. Where available we show the Teanby et al. (2006) mixing ratios and temperature profile. Despite varying assumptions and haze schemes, all retrievals indicate a haze layer in approximately the same pressure location. Note that the POSEIDON haze location is inferred from the pressure contribution functions and is shown as a shaded region. - [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Piercing-through.png?resize=1200%2C710&ssl=1)
[astro-ph.EP] As we enter a new era of using JWST to characterize exoplanet atmospheres, a top priority is defining observational needs and parameters in the search for life on an […]
Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry
Posted inAstrochemistry
Experimental Astrochemistry And Machine Learning Unravel The Formation Of Oxygen-bearing Organic Molecules In Extraterrestrial Ices
[Nature Communications Chemistry] Oxygen-bearing organic molecules, including aldehydes, alcohols, and peroxides, serve as key precursors to complex organics in extraterrestrial environments. Their non-equilibrium formation mechanisms critically constrain the molecular complexity […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry
Discovery: Oxygenic Photosynthesis Is Possible With Only One Photosystem
[Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München] LMU researchers demonstrate that oxygenic photosynthesis can occur with only a single photosystem, overturning a fundamental principle of biology.
![Time evolution of the probability distribution of the system for different temperatures as labeled and for fixed parameters: V=106 km3 , L=10 53 erg/s, r=0.01 AU, Grac=26.30 kJ/mol. The vertical axis is enantiomeric excess, and the horizontal axis is time in Myr scale. -- [astro-ph.HE]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Supernova-Neutrinos.png?resize=1200%2C715&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Supernova Neutrinos And The Origin of Biomolecular Homochirality
[astro-ph.HE] We investigate the role of parity-violating interactions between supernova neutrinos and chiral molecules in nearby interstellar molecular clouds as a potential source of biomolecular homochirality.
![The New jersey meteorite -- [SETI Institute]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ALien-World.png?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Alien World Chemistry Found Inside A Meteorite that Struck A New Jersey Home
[SETI Institute] On July 16, 2024 a daytime meteor shook New York City with a sonic boom as it passed just south of the Statue of Liberty. Now, an international […]
Posted inHabitable Zones
Water Planet Habitability: Sea Level Is Linked To Earth’s Carbon Thermostat
[Syracuse University] Earth has a natural thermostat that has kept the planet habitable for more than a hundred million years. Scientists have struggled to fully explain how it works, but […]
Posted inAstrogeology
Diverging Mineral Chemistry of Iron and Nickel Throughout Earth’s Changing Redox Conditions Reveals Foundation for Their Evolution as Protein Cofactors
[LIFE] Iron (Fe) and nickel (Ni) were both foundational to early metabolism, yet their biological trajectories diverged as Earth’s surface redox state changed. Here, we integrate mineral chemistry network analysis, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Sugar Erythrulose Discovered In Interstellar Space
[Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)] Sugars are key biomolecules in living organisms, as they form the backbone of DNA and RNA and play a fundamental role in metabolic processes. In […]
![Deep-sea microbial sample processing. Detailed sample processing steps for HPG assimilating cells and total cell counts are denoted in grey and black arrows/squares, respectively. Processing steps and samples used for metagenomic sequencing are denoted in light-blue arrows and squares. “Whole sample” correspond to triplicate 50 ml aliquots, each filtered onto a 0.22 μm filter directly from the cryopreserved material, and then released with 200 μl of 0.025% (v/v) Tween 20 in PBS to be processed through MDA and DNA sequencing; “all cells” correspond to samples of cryopreserved material that were stained with a DNA dye, collected on a 0.22 μm filter, processed through the BONCAT labelling assay, and then sorted by flow cytometry, aiming to select events that presented the DNA dye; “BONCAT+” cell samples originated from the same material as ‘all cells’, but their sorting aimed for events that presented both the DNA dye and the fluorescent dye Alexa-Fluor 488 (attached to the HPG incorporated by the active cells). The selection of BONCAT+ cells was established for each sample based on the level of BONCAT background labelling to the microbial community when not exposed to HPG, or when fixed before being exposed to HPG (i.e. reflecting the adhesion of the fluorescent label to cells that did not incorporate HPG). -- [ISME Journal via PubMed]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Sample-Return.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inSample Return
Sample Return: Minimizing Decompression And Warming During Deep Seawater Collection Increases Abundance And Activity Of Autochthonous Bacteria And Archaea
[ISME Journal via PubMed] The deep ocean hosts autochthonous pressure-adapted microorganisms that are unique to this environment, as well as allochthonous pressure-sensitive members transported from shallow depths by vertical advection […]
![A schematic showing the key abitoic (black dashed boxes) and biotic (white dashed box) processes occurring in the model (reproduced from Nicholson et al. 2022). -- [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/A-generalised-microbial.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
A Generalised Microbial Cell Model For Methane Biosignature Predictions
[astro-ph.EP] The majority of potentially habitable planets detected to date are likely quite different to Earth, for example, being larger in radius and mass, differing rotation rates and with host […]