Lipids constitute resistant biomarkers that have been proposed as pacemakers in the search for possible microbial life-forms in Mars’ past.
Terrestrial planets likely experienced one or more giant impacts during their formation that inflicted large thermal, chemical, and rotational perturbations.
Terrestrial algae play a critical, yet often overlooked, role in the functioning of biological soil crusts (biocrusts), which are considered microecosystems, particularly in extreme environments.
The surface of Mars is sterilized by ionizing radiation and pervasive oxidants; its shallow subsurface, shielded from ultraviolet light and the most reactive oxidation, may instead preserve habitable conditions.
Introduction – Cryo-hypersaline brines combine sub-zero temperatures with near-saturated salinity, creating one of Earth’s most extreme habitats. Antarctic Deep Lake provides a natural model for studying how proteins remain stable […]
Experimentally modeling the habitability of extreme ocean world conditions, such as those on Jupiter’s moon: Europa, would benefit from integrated microbe-virus model studies to provide both a microbial model and […]
Present-day Venus, similar to Earth in terms of relative radius, acceleration of gravity and mean density, is characterised by a very strong greenhouse effect and full cloud cover.
Micro organisms from our planet could survive on celestial bodies where water is present, such as Mars. That is the conclusion of PhD candidate Tommaso Zaccaria after experiments with simulated […]
Despite extreme conditions including freezing temperatures, low water activity, and few nutrients, active microorganisms are thought to inhabit glacial ice, yet little is known about their identities and methods of […]
Microbes that survive transport to and in the stratosphere endure extremes of low temperature, atmospheric pressure, and relative humidity, as well as high fluxes in ultraviolet radiation (UVR).
