Scientists have dramatically expanded the tree of life by using genomic data from over 1,000 organisms that have not previously been cultivated in the laboratory. The new version of the […]
Origin & Evolution of Life
Posted inComets and Asteroids, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life
Melting Pots for Life on Earth
Geochemists from Trinity College Dublin’s School of Natural Sciences may have found a solution to a long-debated problem as to where – and how – life first formed on Earth. […]
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 inImpact events, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life
Early Mars Bombardment Likely Enhanced Life-supporting Habitat
The bombardment of Mars some 4 billion years ago by comets and asteroids as large as West Virginia likely enhanced climate conditions enough to make the planet more conducive to […]
Posted inExoplanets, -moons, -comets, Origin & Evolution of Life
Magnetic Field Was Critical for Life on the Early Earth
Nearly four billion years ago, life arose on Earth. Life appeared because our planet had a rocky surface, liquid water, and a blanketing atmosphere. But life thrived thanks to another […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Modern Microbial Ecosystems Provide Window to Early Life on Earth
New research from a University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science-led science team provides new insight into one of the world’s most diverse and extensive ecosystems […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
How Terrestrial Life's Building Blocks May Have First Formed
How did life begin? This is one of the most fundamental questions scientists puzzle over. To address it, they have to look not just back to the primordial Earth, but […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Antarctic Microbes Hold Clue to Earth's Oxygen
At the bottom of an icy Antarctic lake, a thin, slimy layer of bright green microbes is generating a tiny oasis of oxygen that might give a picture of what […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release
Plants Appeared On Land Earlier Than Previously Thought
Plant biologists agree that it all began with green algae. At some point in our planet’s history, the common ancestor of trees, ferns, and flowers developed an alternating life cycle–presumably […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Evolution of the Ribosome: Looking Back 3.8 billion Years
NASA-funded researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are tapping information found in the cells of all life on Earth, and using it to trace life’s evolution. They have learned […]