abyssal ocean Archives - Astrobiology

a cryoEM volume revealing a two-start (C2) helical filament with a pitch p and diameter of 94.6 Å and 260 Å, and a rise and twist of 3.18 Å and 12.1°, respectively; b local interaction network between neighboring cannula protofilaments in which subunits interlock through donor strand complementation along the axial (e.g., i → j → k) direction and partake in further intermolecular contacts mediated by calcium coordination along the axial and radial (e.g., j-1→j → j + 1) direction; c stick representation of three types of calcium pockets: (i) axial stacking of subunits via type I and II calcium binding centers, (ii) radial contacts are mediated via type III Ca2+ binding sites; d raw cryoEM image of a cannulae filaments loaded with a helically winding thinner filament (2 nm; cargo). White arrows denote winding cargo and dangling cargo associated with the cannulae filaments; e surface electrostatics showing a predominantly negatively charged surface and a positively charged lumen for the cannula model. The representative image in this figure (d) is derived from a total of 2365 cryo-EM movies from two technical replicates.-- Nature Communications

Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Extreme Engineering – Unlocking Design Secrets of Deep-sea Microbes

by Keith CowingDecember 7, 2025

The microbe Pyrodictium abyssi is an archaeon — a member of what’s known as the third domain of life — and an extremophile. It lives in deep-sea thermal vents, at […]

China's manned submersible Fendouzhe is used in the study. -- IDSSE

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Chemosynthetic Life Discovered In Extreme Depths of Hadal Trenches

by Keith CowingAugust 12, 2025

Beneath the deep sea at nearly 10,000 meters, a Chinese-led team has discovered vibrant communities of marine creatures that survive without sunlight, relying instead on chemical reactions for energy.

Polymetallic nodule. CREDIT Franz Geiger/Northwestern University

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Deep-ocean Floor Produces Its Own Oxygen

by Keith CowingJuly 22, 2024July 22, 2024

An international team of researchers, including a Northwestern University chemist, has discovered that metallic minerals on the deep-ocean floor produce oxygen — 13,000 feet below the surface.

2016: Alvin working on the East Pacific Rise, as viewed from a camera on an elevator (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

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Offworld Away Team Analog: New Opportunities and Untapped Scientific Potential in Earth’s Abyssal Ocean

by Keith CowingMay 23, 2024May 23, 2024

The abyssal ocean covers more than half of the Earth’s surface, yet remains understudied and underappreciated. In this Perspectives article, we mark the occasion of the Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin’s […]