We present an assessment of the effects of stellar wind magnetic and mechanical components on the habitability of Earth-like exoplanets orbiting the inner and outer radii of the habitable zone […]
Origin & Evolution of Life
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Current Understanding Of Electroautotrophy And Its Relevance In Astrobiology-related Research
Electroautotrophy—the use of extracellular electrons as the primary energy source for autotrophic metabolism—remains understudied compared to photoautotrophy and chemoautotrophy.
Posted inFossils & Paleontology, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Did Marine Life In The Paleocene Navigate Using Earth’s Magnetic Field?
Some ancient marine organisms produced mysterious magnetic particles of unusually large size, which can now be found as fossils in marine sediments. An international team has succeeded in mapping the […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Microbes At Red Sea Vents Show How Life And Geology Shape Each Other
A new study led by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; Saudi Arabia) Professor Alexandre Rosado has revealed an unusual microbial world in the Hatiba Mons hydrothermal vent […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Building Blocks Of Life Located In Ice Around A Forming Star In A Neighboring Galaxy
In a discovery that could reshape our understanding of how the chemical ingredients for life spread throughout the cosmos, astronomers detected organic molecules with more than six atoms frozen in […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Hybrid Iron/Green-Rust-Urea Model for Prebiotic Chemistry: A Synthesis of Testable Pathways for Planetary Astrobiology
We propose a quantitative, testable framework for abiogenesis that links submarine alkaline vents, which supply H2, ΔpH, and Fe/Fe–S catalysis, to subaerial hot-spring fields that provide wet–dry concentration and UV-driven […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Titan
Unexpected Discovery On Titan Challenges Our View On Chemistry Before Life Emerged
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and the US space agency NASA have made an unexpected discovery that challenges one of the basic rules of chemistry and provides […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Geologists Discover The First Evidence of 4.5-billion-year-old “proto-Earth”
Scientists at MIT and elsewhere have discovered extremely rare remnants of “proto Earth,” which formed about 4.5 billion years ago, before a colossal collision irreversibly altered the primitive planet’s composition […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Analytical Characterization Approaches to Measure Prebiotic-Synthesis Products in Salty Environments
Experiments exploring potential emergence-of-life chemistry in a laboratory setting critically depend on simulating realistic early-Earth environments. Such experimental conditions include the implementation of controlled high temperatures and pressures, anoxic gas […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
The Origin of Biomolecular Homochirality
The origin of homochirality in biomolecules is a central problem in the study of the origin of life and is fundamental to understanding the nature of life itself.