Chaetognaths, or arrow worms, have a distinct jaw structure composed of dense protein matrix and a fibrous substance called chitin. These organisms display an ambiguous set of developmental and morphological […]
Origin & Evolution of Life
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
The Trails Left By Earth's First Land Animals
Our understanding of when the very first animals started living on land is helped by identifying trace fossils–the tracks and trails left by ancient animals–in sedimentary rocks that were deposited […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Common Table Salt May Have Been Crucial For The Origin of Life
One of the most fundamental unexplained questions in modern science is how life began. Scientists generally believe that simple molecules present in early planetary environments were converted to more complex […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Oxygen Could Have Been Available To Life As Early As 3.5 Billion Years Ago
Microbes could have performed oxygen-producing photosynthesis at least one billion years earlier in the history of the Earth than previously thought. The finding could change ideas of how and when […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astronauts and Explorers, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Life Support Systems, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen Antarctic Status Report 7 November 2018: Repairing Heavy Damage
“We are still recovering from the damaging winds that trashed the camp, but as soon as things calm down we will get busy and pull it all back together.” “The […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Astronauts and Explorers, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Cryobiology, Dale Andersen's Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Life Support Systems, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, People Of Astrobiology, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Astrobiologist Dale Andersen Antarctic Status Report 6 November 2018: Wind Damage
“Our winds have continued unabated likely hitting 40-50 m/s at times.” “We did lose four of our tents yesterday despite our best efforts to save them – the winds were […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
New Clues About Old Life
Hundreds of millions of years before there was a chicken or an egg to debate, the first complex animals were evolving in parallel with Earth’s rising oxygen levels. But what […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, NASA Astrobiology Program, Origin & Evolution of Life, People Of Astrobiology, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report
Report: An Astrobiology Strategy For The Search For Life In The Universe
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences; Space Studies Board; Committee on Astrobiology Science Strategy for the Search for Life in the Universe.
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Physical Constraints for the Evolution of Life on Exoplanets
Recently, many Earth-sized planets have been discovered around stars other than the Sun that might possess appropriate conditions for life. The development of theoretical methods for assessing the putative habitability […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Scientists Identify Protein That May Have Existed When Life Began on Earth
How did life arise on Earth? Rutgers researchers have found among the first and perhaps only hard evidence that simple protein catalysts – essential for cells, the building blocks of […]