Protocells are, by definition, the most primitive predecessors of biological cells, devoid of all complex molecular biological processes.
Microbiology & Virology
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Autotrophic Biofilms Sustained By Deeply-sourced Groundwater Host Diverse CPR Bacteria Implicated In Sulfur And Hydrogen Metabolism
Candidate Phyla Radiation (CPR) bacteria are commonly detected yet enigmatic members of diverse microbial communities.
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Astrobiologists Expand Knowledge Of Virus Diversity
Astrobiologists supported by NASA have completed a study of RNA viruses on Earth and have vastly expanded knowledge of virus diversity. Currently, there are thought to be five broad categories […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release
Away Team Mission On Earth: Mapping Fungal Networks On Earth’s Most Remote Island
In the middle of the Pacific Ocean is an uninhabited atoll that houses underground mycorrhizal networks that may have evolved a unique ability to cycle nutrients between seabirds, rainforest trees, […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Early Selection Of The Amino Acid Alphabet Was Adaptively Shaped By Biophysical Constraints Of Foldability
Whereas modern proteins rely on a quasi-universal repertoire of 20 canonical amino acids (AAs), numerous lines of evidence suggest that ancient proteins relied on a limited alphabet of 10 ‘early’ […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
A New Branch On The Tree Of Life
There’s a new branch on the tree of life and it’s made up of predators that nibble their prey to death.
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
An Update On Eukaryotic Viruses Revived From Ancient Permafrost
One quarter of the Northern hemisphere is underlain by permanently frozen ground, referred to as permafrost.
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
An Atacama Desert Microbial Community As A Model For Astrobiology
The grit crust is a recently discovered, novel type of biocrust made of prokaryotic cyanobacteria, eukaryotic green algae, fungi, lichens and other microbes that grow around and within granitoid stone […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Tardigrades
New Information On The abilities Of Tardigrades
Tardigrades are tiny (0.5-1 mm) eight-legged animals famous for being among the toughest organisms on the planet.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Earth’s Oldest Stromatolites And The Search For Life On Mars
The earliest morphological traces of life on Earth are often highly controversial, both because non-biological processes can produce relatively similar structures and because such fossils have often been subjected to […]