Microbial communities of geothermal habitats are central to understanding the evolution of life on Earth. Metagenomics has provided insight into the role of viruses in shaping microbial diversity of complex […]
Eukaryotes originated from the symbiosis of an Asgard archaeon, the alphaproteobacterial ancestor of mitochondria, and possibly additional bacterial contributions.
The Hawaiian islands are among the most geologically and volcanically active places on Earth. While the Hawaiian Archipelago is known for its animal and plant diversity, much less is known […]
Exploration of oxygen-depleted marine environments has consistently revealed novel microbial taxa and metabolic capabilities that expand our understanding of microbial evolution and ecology.
Vertical transmission of marine particles brings ocean surface cyanobacteria into the deep ocean, where heterotrophic cyanobacterial lineages probably evolve to adapt to new environments even in oxygen-depleted zones.
Recent findings demonstrate that concentrated sulfuric acid supports rich organic chemistry, including the stability of the canonical DNA bases adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine.
Terraces near Flamencos Lagoon in the southeastern Salar de Pajonales (Chile), located at 3,517 m above sea level in the arid Altiplano, host relic gypsum stromatolites and crusts formed under […]
Extremophiles are microorganisms that thrive in environments previously thought to be uninhabitable, including extreme temperature, salinity, pH, pressure, and radiation.
Ice-nucleating proteins (INpros) catalyze ice formation at high subzero temperatures, with major biological and environmental implications.
A NASA-sponsored team has developed electronics that can operate reliably in the harsh radiation and temperature conditions found on distant planetary bodies like Europa, an ocean world orbiting Jupiter. Not […]
