biodiversity
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Deep Sea Is An Untapped Evolutionary Engine Says New Study

by Keith Cowing

Editor’s note: As we expand outward from Earth to other worlds we are almost certainly going to encounter things we did not expect to find – things that are unlikely […]

Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Impact events, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Pioneering Research Sheds New Light On What Shaped Extinction Pattern Of Prehistoric Marine Life – And Size Clearly Mattered

by Keith Cowing

Scientists have shown conclusively for the first time that tiny marine organisms in polar oceans survived the mass extinction event that wiped out prehistoric dinosaurs because they needed less energy […]

Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Hidden Viruses Reshape One Of Earth’s Largest Carbon Systems

by Keith Cowing

Viruses play a far more active role in Earth’s carbon cycle than previously understood, according to new research that reveals how they infect and control microbes responsible for carbon production […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Orbital Biosignature Assay: Antarctica’s Vanishing Sea Ice Transforms Marine Life

by Keith Cowing

Editor’s note: when our first missions – human or robotic – arrive at a new world we’ll want to do glean as much information from space – via fly by […]

Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report

The Recovery Of 12,789 Genomes Revealed The Diversity, Function, And Microbial Interactions Of The Geothermal Spring Microbiome

by Keith Cowing

Geothermal springs, characterized by extreme physicochemical conditions, represent ecologically and evolutionarily significant habitats that foster unique microbial communities and drive adaptive evolutionary processes.

Posted inAnalog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report

Evaluation Of The Bacterial Diversity In The World’s Deepest Cave—Veryovkina, Arabika Massif, Western Caucasus

by Keith Cowing

Veryovkina Cave is the world’s deepest known cave (2212 m deep). It is located in the Arabika Massif of Gagra Mountain in the Western Caucasus. Its microbiome remains unknown because […]

Posted inAnalog Studies, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report

Hawaiian Geothermal Fumaroles Contain Diverse and Novel Viruses

by Keith Cowing

Microbial communities of geothermal habitats are central to understanding the evolution of life on Earth. Metagenomics has provided insight into the role of viruses in shaping microbial diversity of complex […]

Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Proxima Centauri, Status Report, TRAPPIST-1, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ecological Modelling Of Hycean Worlds

by Keith Cowing

New observations are opening the possibility of characterising habitable environments in exoplanetary systems, with the recent example of the candidate hycean world K2-18 b.

Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Japan’s Deep Ocean Reveals Dozens of New Species from Landmark 2025 Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census – JAMSTEC Expedition

by Keith Cowing

Japan has led a major international effort to explore and document new life in the deep ocean. Following the Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census Expedition in June 2025, partnering with the […]

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