The beauty of the DNA code is that organisms interpret it unambiguously. Each three-letter nucleotide sequence, or codon, in a gene codes for a unique amino acid that’s added to […]
Origin & Evolution of Life
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
International Research Team Discovers A Potential Source Of Abiotic Methane In The Arctic Ocean
An international team of scientists and students, led by the Arctic University of Norway, and including chemists and engineers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), has announced a remarkable discovery […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return
Ancient Chemical Clues Reveal Earth’s Earliest Life 3.3 Billion Years Ago
A new study uncovered fresh chemical evidence of life in rocks more than 3.3 billion years old, along with molecular traces showing that oxygen-producing photosynthesis emerged nearly a billion years […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
How Did Earth’s Animal Life Transition From Aquatic To Terrestrial Environments?
The transition from aquatic to terrestrial life has been one of the most significant evolutionary challenges. This decisive process in the evolution of life on Earth required a profound renewal […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
New Clues To Origins Of Complex Life Revealed
Mississippi State biologist Matthew W. Brown, the university’s Donald L. Hall Professor of Biology, is part of an international research team whose groundbreaking discovery is featured Nov. 19 in Nature—one […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Single-celled Organisms Found To Have A More Complex DNA Epigenetic Code Than Multicellular Life
The background: Multicellular organisms (animals, plants, human) all have the ability to methylate the cytosine © base in their DNA. This process, a type of epigenetic modification, plays an important […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Chemical Evidence Of Ancient Life Detected In 3.3 billion-year-old Rocks
Pairing cutting-edge chemistry with artificial intelligence, a multidisciplinary team of scientists today published fresh chemical evidence of Earth’s earliest life – concealed in 3.3-billion-year-old rocks – and molecular evidence that […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Time-resolved Phylogenomics Analysis Reveals Patterns In Biosphere Nutrient Limitation Through Earth History
The co-evolution of life and Earth has profoundly transformed global biogeochemical cycles over the past 3.5 billion years.
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Stellar Cartography
Abiogenesis On Different Star Types; a Dissipative Photochemical Perspective
The thermodynamic dissipation theory for the origin of life asserts a thermodynamic imperative for the origin of life, suggesting that the fundamental molecules of life originated as self-organized molecular photon […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Mineral-guided Molecular Enrichment: An Interfacial Driving Force For Protocell Emergence On Early Earth
The emergence of protocells from a dilute prebiotic environment is a fundamental challenge in origins-of-life research which requires the simultaneous overcoming of molecular dilution, the establishment of metabolic cycles and […]