[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 […]
Biophysics
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.
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Rising From The Fragments: A Multi-factorial Regulatory Framework Of DNA Damage Response In Deinococcus radiodurans
[Extremophiles] Understanding the coordinated regulation of gene expression in response to environmental challenges is critical for unravelling the resistance strategies of the extremophiles that endure extreme habitats.
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 […]
![Microscopic Image of Organic Ice Mixture captured from the O-PTIR high resolution microscope. -- [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Detection-of-Organics.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Detection of Organics in Water Ice by Optical-PhotoThermal Infrared Spectroscopy
[astro-ph.IM] The detection and characterization of organic molecules within water ice is vital for interpreting observations of icy moons and comets. However, organic-ice interactions often distort intrinsic water-ice absorption features, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Searching For The Elusive CH2+ With The James Webb Space Telescope. Another Carbocation To Constrain Astrochemical Networks
[astro-ph.GA] Carbocations are key species in interstellar chemistry, providing entry points for building larger hydrocarbons. CH+, and more recently, CH3+, have been detected. Other carbocations await detection to provide a […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Dual Use Technology – An Astrochemistry Spin Off
Editor’s note: many of the tools that are used in astronomy to conduct analyses of chemistry in space – astrochemistry – utilize technology that has had long-standing applications in a […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Photodynamics Of Amino Acids Under UV Excitation: Extraterrestrial Amino Acids
[J. Chem. Phys.] The detection of amino acids in extraterrestrial environments has important implications for astrobiology and prebiotic chemistry, yet the pathways to their syntheses and their photostability under such […]