A new study is the first to show that living organisms can be persuaded to make silicon-carbon bonds–something only chemists had done before. Scientists at Caltech “bred” a bacterial protein […]
Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Europa’s Ocean May Have An Earthlike Chemical Balance
A new NASA study modeling conditions in the ocean of Jupiter’s moon Europa suggests that the necessary balance of chemical energy for life could exist there, even if the moon […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return
Hydrothermal Systems Show Spectrum of Extreme Life on Earth
The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the most inhospitable places on Earth. Hydrothermal system at the Danakil Depression. The yellow deposits are a variety of sulphates and the […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Press Release
The Case for a Dynamical Subsurface Ecosystem
The introduction and concentration of electron donors and acceptors in the subsurface biosphere is controlled by the mixing of subsurface fluids, but the mechanisms and rates at which microbial communities […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Press Release
New Microbes That Thrive Deep in the Earth
They live several kilometers under the surface of the earth, need no light or oxygen and can only be seen in a microscope. By sequencing genomes of a newly discovered […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Press Release
Expedition Finds Signs of Life in Earth's Mantle
An international team of scientists recently returned from a 47-day research expedition to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean have collected an unprecedented sequence of rock samples from the shallow […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Moon, Press Release
Phase of the Moon affects Amount of Rainfall
When the moon is high in the sky, it creates bulges in the planet’s atmosphere that creates imperceptible changes in the amount of rain that falls below.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Press Release
Explosive Volcanism Drove Major Changes in Snowball Earth Ocean Chemistry
Around 720-640 million years ago, much of the Earth’s surface was covered in ice during a glaciation that lasted millions of years. Explosive underwater volcanoes were a major feature of […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Planetary Sweet Spot: Plate Tectonics Depend on Elemental Abundances
Planet Earth is situated in what astronomers call the Goldilocks Zone — a sweet spot in a solar system where a planet’s surface temperature is neither too hot nor too […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Icy Worlds, Status Report
Fossils Explain How Life Coped During Snowball Earth
Researchers have discovered what they think are fossils of a unique red algae species that lived about 650 million years ago during a brief respite between some of the most […]