[Astrobiology via PubMed] The ambiguity of the Viking lander life-detection experiments left microbiology and microbial ecology out of space missions for 50 years. However, this was largely because the scientific […]
Fossils & Paleontology
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Mars Mission: A Stress Test For The Search For Life
Billions of years ago, environmental conditions on Mars were significantly more hospitable than they are today. Our neighbouring planet was likely warm, humid, and surrounded by a dense atmosphere.
Posted inAstrogeology, Astronauts and Explorers, Away Teams & Field Reports, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, People Of Astrobiology, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
Away Team Mission: NASA, USGS Scientists Go Rock Hounding in California’s High Desert
Editor’s note: when it comes to conducting field trips – sorties – Away Team missions – on another world, astrogeology and astrobiology and astrochemistry overlap with one another all the […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release
Meteorite Which Wiped Out The Dinosaurs Also Created A Record-breaking Hydrothermal System
The meteorite which caused the extinction of the dinosaurs also created an underground environment suited to supporting new life, and new research suggests it lasted for millions of years longer […]
Posted inFossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
A Lack Of Sex Held Back Life’s Diversity For Millions Of Years
The way that Earth’s first animals reproduced held back life’s diversity for millions of years, until stress and competition led to the development of sexual reproduction, which in turn accelerated […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Pioneering Research Sheds New Light On What Shaped Extinction Pattern Of Prehistoric Marine Life – And Size Clearly Mattered
Scientists have shown conclusively for the first time that tiny marine organisms in polar oceans survived the mass extinction event that wiped out prehistoric dinosaurs because they needed less energy […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors
NASA Uses Mineralogical Marker to Understand Ancient Martian Climate
While NASA imagery has shown evidence of ancient rivers and lakes on Mars that transitioned to dry dunes, uncertainty remains over the timing of the environmental changes that may have […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Forgotten Fossil Helps Rewrite Part Of Animal Evolution
New research helps to fill in questions about the so-called “Furongian gap” from about 497 million to 485 million years ago, when palaeontologists previously thought there were far fewer fossils […]
Posted inFossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Synthetic Biology As An Empirical Tool For Evolutionary Theory
Evolutionary biology has traditionally inferred process from patterns in extant organisms and the fossil record, leaving many foundational questions constrained by their historical nature.
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return
Microfossils interpreted as animal traces were actually algae and bactéria
A reexamination of microfossils found in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul shows that the marks previously interpreted as traces of worms or other small oceanic animals are […]