A research team led by biogeochemists at the University of California, Riverside has filled in a billion-year gap in our understanding of conditions in the early ocean during a critical […]
Origin & Evolution of Life
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Origin & Evolution of Life, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Bubbling up Organics in an Ocean Vent Simulator
This week, fizzy ocean water and the alkaline fluid that bubbles up from deep ocean vents are coursing through a structure at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. that […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life
Finding Iron's Role In Life on Early Earth
When life began on Earth, iron may have done the job of magnesium, making life possible. On the periodic table of the elements, iron and magnesium are far apart. But […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Finding the roots and early branches of the tree of life
A study published in PLoS Computational Biology maps the development of life-sustaining chemistry to the history of early life. Researchers Rogier Braakman and Eric Smith of the Santa Fe Institute […]
Posted inEducation and Outreach, Origin & Evolution of Life
Sao Paulo School of Advanced Science-Evolution
Undergraduate students, graduate students, and post docs are invited to apply to the 2012 Sao Paulo School of Advanced Science, held from 19-31 August, 2012 on Ilhabela, an archipelago 200km […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life
New Study Sheds Light on Early Earth's Atmosphere
Geological background of the samples analyzed in this study. Panel A shows the geological map at Marble Bar and the location of the ABDP-1 drill core. Panel B shows the […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life
Workshop: The Faint Early Sun: Problem, Paradox, or Distraction?
A workshop to be held at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore MD, April 9-10, 2012. The problem of the faint early Sun has been around for many years, […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology
An Alternative Path for the Evolution of Nitrogen Fixation
A team of researchers from NAI’s Montana State University Team has proposed a new path in the evolution of biological nitrogen fixation on Earth. Nitrogen is one of the most […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
RNA Origins in Sheets of Clay
An example of the mineral montmorillonite (Pen for scale). This sample comes from the mineral collection of Brigham Young University Department of Geology, Provo, Utah. Photograph by Andrew Silver. One […]
Posted inConferences and Meetings, Origin & Evolution of Life
NAI Origin of Life Focus Group Seminar
The NAI Origin of Life Focus Group will host monthly online seminars featuring talks by one established researcher and one early career researcher on topics that are both central to […]