Fossils & Paleontology Archives

Various small shelly fossils recovered from the beds surrounding the Cambrian reefs. Scale bar is 1 mm. Credit Photo courtesy Sarah Jacquet

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Fossils Reveal New Clues About Early Ocean Life On Earth

by Keith CowingJune 16, 2025June 14, 2025

More than 514 million years ago, long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, sponge-like creatures called archaeocyathids were already busy building some of the planet’s earliest reefs — just north of […]

Different types of coastal microbial mats were documented: Lift-off mats from Sisal (B), Pustular (C) and flat (D) microbial mats from Progreso, and flat mats from Ría Lagartos (E). -- PLoSONE via PubMed

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Microbial Diversity Of Coastal Microbial Mats Formations In Karstic Habitats From The Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

by Keith CowingJune 10, 2025June 10, 2025

In this study, we report for the first time an exploration of the physicochemical characteristics and the prokaryotic diversity of three different types of microbial mats from karstic habitats located […]

The sample return capsule from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission is seen shortly after touching down in the desert, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range.

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report

Martian Samples, Hazards, And Biosecurity: Between Science And Bioethics

by Keith CowingJune 9, 2025June 9, 2025

The fact that life-pastor present-has not been detected on Mars does not mean that it does not exist there. Indeed, the article is quite precise in highlighting that “a special […]

Shifting distributions of genera within functional groups and their phylogenetic underpinnings among the end-Cretaceous, survival pool, and Recent biotas. (A) Changes in absolute richness of genera within functional groups between the end-Cretaceous biota, the survivor pool, and today. Warmer colors indicate higher genus richness. Mixing of the color gradient in the survivor pool and Recent biota indicates shifts in the richness rank order of functional groups. (B) Phylogenetic underpinnings of functional group composition for the end-Cretaceous and Recent biotas. The proportion of genera in a functional group per family is reflected by the widths of ribbons connecting the tips of the family-level phylogeny to functional groups. The middle panel shows the proportional changes in genus richness of functional groups among taxon sets. The connections between the taxon sets are to visualize shifts in the rank order of functional groups and do not imply smooth transitions between them. -- Science Advances

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

How Does Life Rebound From Mass Extinctions?

by Keith CowingJune 4, 2025June 4, 2025

If you’re an animal living through a mass extinction, it’s best to be one that’s found a unique way to make a living.

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Study Resolves The Diatom Tree Of Life

by Keith CowingJune 4, 2025June 6, 2025

Trees get most of the love, but diatoms, a group of photosynthetic microalgae, produce 20% of Earth’s oxygen and are the foundation of aquatic food webs. The prevalence and diversity […]

By delving into ancient rock records, scientists have uncovered new clues that sharpen the timeline of Earth’s oxygenation—shedding fresh light on one of the most transformative chapters in our planet’s evolutionary story. Credit Benjamin Uveges

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Rock Record Illuminates Earth’s Oxygen History

by Keith CowingMay 30, 2025May 29, 2025

Several key moments in Earth’s history help us humans answer the question, “How did we get here?”

Platinum replica electron microscope image of the inner membrane of a mammalian cell. Source: Justin Taraska, Ph.D., chief of NHLBI’s molecular and cellular imaging laboratory -- NIH.gov

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Membrane-Spanning Molecular Lengths as an Agnostic Biosignature

by Keith CowingMay 27, 2025May 27, 2025

We explore a hypothesis in which the detection of classes of lipid-like molecules with similar abundance-averaged lengths would constitute a biosignature for other worlds.

One of the navigation cameras on NASA’s Perseverance captured the rover’s tracks coming from an area called “Witch Hazel Hill,” on May 13, 2025, the 1,503rd Martian day, or sol, of the mission. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release

Perseverance Mars Rover Explores Krokodillen Region Of Jezero Crater

by Keith CowingMay 20, 2025May 20, 2025

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is exploring a new region of interest the team is calling “Krokodillen” that may contain some of the oldest rocks on Mars. The area has been […]

Photographs depicting details of Vulcanidris cratensis gen. et sp. nov. -- Current Biology Holotype (MZSP-CRA-0002). (A) Head and anterior portion of mesosoma. Scale bar, 1 mm. (B) Mesosoma. Scale bar, 1 mm. (C) Left forewing. Scale bar, 1 mm. (D) Right forewing. Scale bar, 1 mm. (E) Detail of head. Scale bar, 0.5 mm. (F) Detail of petiole. Scale bar, 0.5 mm. (G) Metasoma. Scale bar, 1 mm. Arrowheads indicate key characters mentioned in the text.

Analog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Biosignatures: The Oldest Ant Ever Discovered Found Fossilized In Brazil

by Keith CowingApril 26, 2025April 26, 2025

Editor’s note: we currently have three rovers on Mars – and other in orbit – searching in one way or another for biosignatures – chemical and/or geological traces that life […]

Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Mars, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report

Perseverance Drills Main River Rock Sample

by Keith CowingApril 14, 2025April 14, 2025

The robotic arm on NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover used its percussive drill to core and collect the “Main River” rock sample on March 10, 2025, the 1,441st Martian day, or […]