The glass sponge, Advhena magnifica, prior to being collected in 2016 at a depth of ~2,000 meters (6,560 feet). Scientists call this class of sponges “glass” because their skeletons are made of silica (glass). Their bodies contain fascinating tissues that consist of many nuclei within a single membrane, and these tissues help conduct electrical signals across the sponge making them able to respond quickly to external stimuli. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas.

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Science Fiction, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Planet Exploration And Taxonomy: Naming A Strange New Species

by Keith CowingJuly 14, 2025July 14, 2025

Editor’s note: one day we will begin a detailed exploration of ocean worlds other than our own. Hopefully they will be habitable – and inhabited. Given that we still find […]

Multi-layered pipeline for identifying bacterium/archaeon pairs with similar genomic signatures. Layer 1: Five selected non-parametric clustering methods identify clusters of organisms with similar genomic signatures. The clusters containing both bacteria and archaea (green) generate a list of 78 candidate bacterium–archaeon pairs, grouped by these algorithms based on their similar genomic signatures. Layer 2-a:: The candidate pairs from Layer 1 undergo pairwise distance calculations between their FCGRs using four different distance metrics. Only 40 pairs, with the majority of distances below empirically determined thresholds, are retained. Layer 2-b: In parallel to FCGR comparison, a biological analysis is conducted on the output pairs from Layer 1. This includes checking environment labels and examining metadata about their living environments to select pairs isolated from similar types of extreme environments, resulting in 20 pairs. The final output is a list of 15 bacterium/archaeon pairs (comprising 16 unique genera and 20 unique species) that passed all filtering layers. These pairs can confidently be proposed as maximally divergent microbes that share similar genomic signatures associated with their living environments. -- biorxiv.org

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Status Report

Life At The Extremes: Maximally Divergent Microbes With Similar Genomic Signatures Linked To Extreme Environments

by Keith CowingJune 30, 2025June 28, 2025

Extreme environments impose strong mutation and selection pressures that drive distinctive, yet understudied, genomic adaptations in extremophiles.

The site of the oldest rocks on Earth, 30 km from Inukjuak, in Nunavik, Canada. -- University Of Ottawa

Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Meteorites & Asteroids, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release

New Study Confirms That The Oldest Rocks On Earth Are In Northern Canada

by Keith CowingJune 27, 2025June 27, 2025

A team of Canadian and French researchers has confirmed that northern Quebec is home to the oldest known rocks on Earth, dating back 4.16 billion years.

Mass-Radius plot of asteroids, moons, planets, brown dwarfs and low-mass stars. From nearly 5600 exoplanets listed in the PHL-HWC database, 1504 are categorized as terrestrial worlds (orange dots), 2609 as Neptunian worlds (green dots), 1355 as Jovian worlds (purple dots), and 115 as brown dwarfs (brown dots). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Brown Dwarfs, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gas Giants, Ice Giant, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Status Report

(Re)-Defining Planets — the Fundamental Plane of Planets

by Keith CowingJune 23, 2025June 23, 2025

6000+ exoplanets are now detected using various techniques, with estimates of billions of planets existing in our Galaxy alone.

a–c, Spatial distribution of the biogeographical sectors in bioregions of mammals (a), amphibians (b) and reptiles (c). Icons indicate the taxonomic group to which bioregions correspond.The biogeographical interpretations of the sectors and colours are provided in the legend of Fig. 1. -- Nature Ecology & Evolution

Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release

Planetary Biology: One Rule Explain Life’s Distribution

by Keith CowingJune 5, 2025June 5, 2025

A new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution has found a simple rule that seems to govern how life is organised on Earth. The researchers believe this rule helps […]

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Study Resolves The Diatom Tree Of Life

by Keith CowingJune 4, 2025June 6, 2025

Trees get most of the love, but diatoms, a group of photosynthetic microalgae, produce 20% of Earth’s oxygen and are the foundation of aquatic food webs. The prevalence and diversity […]

"Strange New World" - Star Trek Enterprise episode 104 - Enterprise passes a previously unknown Minshara-class (M-class) planet with an Earth-like atmosphere and surface. - Paramount/CBS

Press Release

A Terminology and Quantitative Framework for Assessing the Habitability of Solar System and Extraterrestrial Worlds

by Keith CowingJune 2, 2025June 27, 2026

Our paper fills this gap based on a three year-long study by the NExSS Quantitative Habitability Science Working Group. We reviewed past studies of habitability, but find that the lack […]

A radar image showing the Gamburtsev mountain range under layers of ice. Creyts et al., Geophysical Research Letters (2014), CC BY-SA

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice Planet Recon: Antarctica Has A Huge, Completely Hidden Mountain Range

by Keith CowingMay 14, 2025May 14, 2025

Have you ever imagined what Antarctica looks like beneath its thick blanket of ice? Hidden below are rugged mountains, valleys, hills and plains.

Image of Antarctica as seen by human eyes from orbit - Fram2/SpaceX

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Callisto, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ice Planet Exploration: A Dataset Of Antarctic Ecosystems In Ice-free Lands

by Keith CowingMay 8, 2025May 8, 2025

Astrobiology.com Editor’s note: Recently the Fram2 mission took four astronaut explorers on an orbital path that covered both of our planet’s polar regions. This was the fist human mission to […]

Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Plant Biology, Press Release, Science Fiction, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Echoes of “Avatar”: Spruce Trees Communicate During A Solar Eclipse

by Keith CowingApril 30, 2025April 30, 2025

Editor’s note: In the “Avatar” film series the interconnectedness of trees and other life forms is at the core of Pandoran ecosystems. On Earth, large expanses of trees exists wich […]

Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History

Ocean Planet Exploration And Taxonomy: Naming A Strange New Species

Life At The Extremes: Maximally Divergent Microbes With Similar Genomic Signatures Linked To Extreme Environments

New Study Confirms That The Oldest Rocks On Earth Are In Northern Canada

(Re)-Defining Planets — the Fundamental Plane of Planets

Planetary Biology: One Rule Explain Life’s Distribution

Study Resolves The Diatom Tree Of Life

A Terminology and Quantitative Framework for Assessing the Habitability of Solar System and Extraterrestrial Worlds

Ice Planet Recon: Antarctica Has A Huge, Completely Hidden Mountain Range

Ice Planet Exploration: A Dataset Of Antarctic Ecosystems In Ice-free Lands

Echoes of “Avatar”: Spruce Trees Communicate During A Solar Eclipse

Tricorder Tech: New Handheld Device Maps Chemical Composition Using Infrared Light

No Statistically Significant Evidence For A Correlation Between Stellar And planetary Composition

Water Planet Recon: How Accurately Can We Measure Earth Ocean’s Deepest Point?

Webb Reveals A Stunning Panorama Of Star Formation

Deep Learning of SHERLOC Raman Spectra For Facilitating Mars Astromaterial Identification

American Astronomical Society AAS 249th Meeting

From Gaia to GaiaNIR: Science from Precision Astrometry Across the Universe and Beyond the Extinction Barrier

Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) 2027

The Galactic Journey of the Solar System: Astronomical, Geological, and Paleo-Climatological Perspectives

European Astronomical Society Annual Meeting 2027