Cometary outbursts may be used as a means to infer the physical processes occurring on cometary nuclei. To that end, we studied eight outbursts of comet 7P/Pons-Winnecke identified between 2021 […]
Commercial & Private Sector
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return
From Microbial Dark Matter To Living Library: New Biobank Decodes Survival Secrets Of Extreme Acid Mine Drainage Microbes
Editor’s note: If we aspire to mount expeditions to new worlds and then embrace the task of characterizing and quantifying whatever life forms we find, the ability to map and […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Cubesats and smallsats, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Missions & Hardware, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Radiation, Space Life Science, Status Report
Development and Demonstration of a Modular Astrobiological Experiments (MAEx) Payload for Autonomous Biological Monitoring in Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
The spaceflight environment presents unique physicochemical conditions, including microgravity, ionizing radiation, altered fluid transport, and confined engineered habitats, which influence biological systems and biomolecular assembly processes.
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Artificial Intelligence Aided Design Of Peptides With Custom Secondary Structure Motifs And Reduced Amino Acid Alphabets
Proteins are highly diverse functional polymers where the specific sequence of amino acids, selected from a standard genetically-encoded alphabet of twenty (C20), determines the structure and ultimately the function of […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Commercial & Private Sector, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Gravitational Biology, Radiation, Space Life Science, Space Physiology & Medicine, Space Stations, Status Report
ASTROREPOMICS: A Curated Transcriptomic Database For Reproductive Biology In Space
Spaceflight imposes substantial physiological stress on reproductive systems, yet relevant transcriptomic data remain fragmented across repositories. To address this need, we developed ASTROREPOMICS, a web-based platform that integrates 17 rigorously […]
![iss057e000185 (10/8/2018) – Biomolecule Sequencer [a flight certified Nanopore MinIon] for the BEST experiment floating in front of Window 7 in the Cupola module. Earth is in the background. The Biomolecule Sequencer seeks to demonstrate, for the first time, that DNA sequencing is feasible in an orbiting spacecraft. A space-based DNA sequencer could identify microbes, diagnose diseases and understand crew member health, and potentially help detect DNA-based life elsewhere in the solar system. -- NASA](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Nanopore-Sequencing.jpg?resize=1200%2C721&ssl=1)
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Origin & Evolution of Life, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Nanopore Sequencing: A Way To Explore Life’s Origins
In future years, it seems likely that someone will claim they have discovered a process that allows a mixture of simple molecules to assemble into structures and systems with the […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Commercial & Private Sector, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report
Behavioral, Physiological, and Transcriptional Mechanisms of Memory in a Synthetic Living Construct
Synthetic living constructs, which lack the long histories of selection in ecological contexts that shape behaviors of conventional organisms, offer an important complement to traditional studies of learning.
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Radiation, Sample Return, Status Report
Molecular Adaptations And Engineering Of Extremophiles For Synthetic Biology And Biotechnological Applications
Extremophiles are microorganisms that thrive in environments previously thought to be uninhabitable, including extreme temperature, salinity, pH, pressure, and radiation.
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Citizen Science / Open Science, Commercial & Private Sector, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report
With Evo 2, AI Can Model And Design The Genetic Code For All Domains Of Life
The DNA foundation model Evo 2, first released in February 2025 as a preprint, is now published in the journal Nature. Trained on the DNA of over 100,000 species across […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Life Support Systems, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Press Release, Sample Return, Space Life Science, Space Physiology & Medicine, Space Stations
Rethinking The Microbial Future of Space Travel
University of Houston microbiologist Madhan Tirumalai is part of NASA’s Analysis Working Groups (AWG) and co-author of a review paper published Jan. 22 in npj Biofilms Microbiomes. The group’s microbes […]