A UT San Antonio-led international research team has identified chitin, the primary organic component of modern crab shells and insect exoskeletons, in trilobite fossils more than 500 million years old, […]
Fossils & Paleontology
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Press Release, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Hydrothermal System Helped Life Recover After Dino-Killing Asteroid
About 66 million years ago, an asteroid slammed into the planet, wiping out all non-avian dinosaurs and about 70% of all marine species. But according to new research, the crater […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Sample Return
Wrinkly Rocks May Actually Be A Fossilized Microbial Community
In 2016 while hiking on a hillside in Morocco, geologist Rowan Martindale saw something that made her stop in her tracks: a slab of sedimentary rock covered in a wrinkly […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Desert Worlds, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Sculpting Of Martian Brain Terrain Reveals The Drying Of Ancient Mars
The Martian brain terrain (MBT), characterized by its unique brain-like morphology, is a potential geological archive for finding hints of paleoclimatic conditions during its formation period.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
What The Earliest Evidence For Life Tells Us About The Early Evolution Of The Biosphere
Life emerged on Earth in an ultramafic world under anaerobic conditions and conditioned by particular environmental characteristics for which no record remains.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Huayuan Biota Decodes Earth’s First Phanerozoic Mass Extinction
Around 540 million years ago, Earth’s biosphere underwent a pivotal transformation, shifting from a microbe-dominated world to one teeming with animal life, as nearly all major animal phyla appeared abruptly […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
The Microbial Inhabitants of the Corona Lava Tube: Astrobiological Insights from a Mars Analog Environment
Lava tubes are recognized as strategic targets in the search for life on Mars. The Corona Lava Tube System in Lanzarote serves as a terrestrial analog for martian subsurface environments […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
410 Million Year Old Fossil Of Prototaxites Defies Classification
The genus ‘Prototaxites’ had previously been thought to be an early type of fungus. However, in a new paper published in Science Advances, researchers from the University of Edinburgh and […]
Posted inExtinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Evidence Of ‘lightning-fast’ Evolution Found After Dinosaur-killing Asteroid Impact
The asteroid that struck the Earth 66 million years ago devastated life across the planet, wiping out the dinosaurs and other organisms in a hail of fire and catastrophic climate […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Press Release
How Earth’s Greenhouse Age Ended 66 Million Years Ago
A 66 million-year-old mystery behind how our planet transformed from a tropical greenhouse to the ice-capped world of today has been unravelled by scientists.