Dear Colleague, The National Science Foundation’s Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) solicitation has recently been renewed and updated (see the program solicitation, NSF 08-515; http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf08515). As in the past, […]
Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Journal articles, Origin & Evolution of Life
A "Follow the Energy" Approach for Astrobiology
Astrobiology December 2007, 7(6): 819-823 http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ast.2007.0207 A key challenge in Astrobiology is to comprehend life and its interaction with the environment at a level sufficiently fundamental to embrace the alternative […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Icy Worlds, Journal articles, Origin & Evolution of Life
Energy, Chemical Disequilibrium, and Geological Constraints on Europa
Astrobiology December 2007, 7(6): 1006-1022 http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ast.2007.0156 Europa is a prime target for astrobiology. The presence of a global subsurface liquid water ocean and a composition likely to contain a suite […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Journal articles, Mars, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Hydrogeologic Controls on Episodic H2 Release from Precambrian Fractured Rocks–Energy for Deep Subsurface Life on Earth and Mars
Astrobiology December 2007, 7(6): 971-986 http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ast.2006.0096 Dissolved H2 concentrations up to the mM range and H2 levels up to 9-58% by volume in the free gas phase are reported for […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Journal articles
Radiolytic Hydrogen and Microbial Respiration in Subsurface Sediments
Astrobiology December 2007, 7(6): 951-970 http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ast.2007.0150 Radiolysis of water may provide a continuous flux of an electron donor (molecular hydrogen) to subsurface microbial communities. We assessed the significance of this […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Journal articles, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Geochemical Constraints on Sources of Metabolic Energy for Chemolithoautotrophy in Ultramafic-Hosted Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Systems
Astrobiology December 2007, 7(6): 933-950 http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ast.2006.0119 Numerical models are employed to investigate sources of chemical energy for autotrophic microbial metabolism that develop during mixing of oxidized seawater with strongly reduced […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Journal articles
A Thermodynamic Analysis of Microbial Growth Experiments
Astrobiology December 2007, 7(6): 891-904 http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ast.2006.0118 The common thread of energy release suggests that diverse microbial metabolic processes can be compared through thermodynamic analyses. The resulting energy and power requirements […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Journal articles, Origin & Evolution of Life
Formate as an Energy Source for Microbial Metabolism in Chemosynthetic Zones of Hydrothermal Ecosystems
Astrobiology December 2007, 7(6): 873-890 http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1089/ast.2007.0127 Formate, a simple organic acid known to support chemotrophic hyperthermophiles, is found in hot springs of varying temperature and pH. However, it is not […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
New Enzymes in the Laboratory
A new paper in Nature from NAI’s NASA Ames Research Center Team describes a new technique they’ve developed through which completely new enzymes can be evolved in the laboratory. The […]
Posted inConferences and Meetings, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
Gordon Research Conference on Protein Cofactors, Radicals, and Quinones
The Gordon Research Conference on Protein Cofactors, Radicals, and Quinones will be held January 20 – 25, 2008, in Ventura, California. The conference will include sessions focusing on biological iron-sulfur […]