Astrobiology via PubMed
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Missions & Hardware, Radiation, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Tricorder Tech: Antibody Resistance to Space Conditions after Exposure Outside the International Space Station

by Keith Cowing

Antibody-based analytical instruments are under development to detect signatures of life on planetary bodies. Antibodies are molecular recognition reagents able to detect their target at sub-nanomolar concentrations, with high affinity […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Missions & Hardware, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Space Stations, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

ISS Astrobiology Research: Photochemical Evolution of Alanine in Association with the Martian Soil Analog Montmorillonite

by Keith Cowing

The Photochemistry on the Space Station (PSS) experiment was part of the European Space Agency’s EXPOSE-R2 mission and was conducted on the International Space Station from 2014 to 2016. The […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Recovery of Lipid Biomarkers in Hot Spring Digitate Silica Sinter as Analogs for Potential Biosignatures on Mars

by Keith Cowing

Digitate siliceous sinter deposits are common in geothermal environments. They form via evaporation and precipitation of cooling silica-rich fluids and passive microbial templating.

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Icy Worlds, Mars, Sample Return, Status Report

Earth to Mars: A Protocol for Characterizing Permafrost in the Context of Climate Change as an Analog for Extraplanetary Exploration

by Keith Cowing

Permafrost is important from an exobiology and climate change perspective. It serves as an analog for extraplanetary exploration, and it threatens to emit globally significant amounts of greenhouse gases as […]

Posted inAstrobiology (general), Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The First Billion Years: Habitability

by Keith Cowing

The physical processes active during the first billion years (FBY) of Earth’s history, such as accretion, differentiation, and impact cratering, provide constraints on the initial conditions that were conducive to […]

Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Early Ocean World Chemistry: Prebiotic Nucleoside Phosphorylation in a Simulated Deep-Sea Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Water Two-Phase Environment

by Keith Cowing

Prebiotic synthesis of complex organic molecules in water-rich environments has been a long-standing challenge. In the modern deep sea, emission of liquid CO2 has been observed in multiple locations, which […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Enceladus, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Status Report

Polyextremophilic Bacteria in Al Wahbah Crater: A Terrestrial Model for Life On Enceladus

by Keith Cowing

The study of extremophilic microorganisms has sparked interest in understanding extraterrestrial microbial life.

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