The search for exoplanet biosignatures is guided by whether planetary environments can sustain photosynthesis.
Gaia – Planetary Perspectives
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Abiotic Sources Of Fixed Nitrogen Sustained Early Ecosystems For Several Hundred Million Years After The Origin Of Life
Nitrogen (N) plays a crucial role in controlling biological productivity. However, it remains unknown how Earth’s earliest ecosystems accessed bioavailable forms of nitrogen.
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Analog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Water Planet Recon: New AI Approach Reveals Earth’s Ocean Currents In Unprecedented Detail
Editor’s note: when our first missions – human or robotic – arrive at a new world we’ll want to do glean as much information from space – via fly by […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
ThousandWorlds: A Benchmark For Climate Emulation Of Potentially Habitable Exoplanets
The search for life beyond Earth will depend on detecting faint signatures in the atmospheres of potentially habitable exoplanets.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Status Report
Molecular Fossils Reveal Secrets Of Earth’s Recovery From Ancient Global Warming Event
Scientists have uncovered new evidence from one of Earth’s most extreme ancient warming events, revealing how the climate may recover long after human-driven CO₂ emissions cease.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Plant Biology, Press Release
Hidden Fungal Networks Could Stretch From The Earth To The Sun A Billion Times Over
Mycorrhizal fungi form underground networks that sustain plant life and help regulate Earth’s climate by drawing carbon into soils.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Warmer World May Redraw Earth’s Sunlight Map
Sunlight follows a rhythm set by Earth’s orbit and tilt: long summer days, dark winters, and a familiar seasonal cycle from low to high latitudes.
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 inAstrobiology (general), Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Origin & Evolution of Life, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report
Life Out There: Expectations And Reality
We are in the age of the direct and indirect search for extraterrestrial life. The major question is: what are we looking for and to what extent can life on […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Rethinking the Last Universal Common Ancestor of Life: Network Convergence and the Root of the Tree
The tree of life is rooted at the “origin of life.” One model holds that core biochemistry, which includes the genetic code, the ribosome, biopolymer backbones, and amino acid and […]