Two microscopic grains collide and produce a tiny spark. This phenomenon may have provided the energy to kick off life on Earth. But if these solid particles have the same […]
biogeochemistry
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
How Microbes Use Earth’s Ancient Carbon
Hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor release carbon dioxide that is many million years old. This old carbon originates from the Earth’s interior, and it escapes either directly from the […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Recent Microbial Evolutionary Insights From Metagenomics
Microorganisms have profoundly shaped Earth’s biological and geological history, from the origins of oxygenic photosynthesis to present-day global biogeochemical cycles.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering
Modelling The Long-term Impacts Of Artificial Warming On The Martian Water Cycle And Surface Ice Distribution
Recent papers by Ansari et al. (2024, Science Advances 10, eadn4650) and Richardson et al. (2025, arXiv eprint 2504.01455) have suggested that global warming of the Martian surface (‘terraforming’) by […]
![[LEFT] Occurrence of bd-type oxygen reductase in a dated tree of life. Branches in the dated tree of life obtained from Mahendrarajah et al. [81] are colored according to the presence (turquoise) or absence (gray) of bd-type oxygen reductase. Eukaryotes were not included in the analysis and are therefore colored in higher gray tones, as are taxa that were not present in the comparative dataset. Dark blue dots at nodes represent possible origins of bd-type oxygen reductase. Purple bars represent the percentage of strains within the taxa that have reductases. [RIGHT] Occurrence of HCO oxygen reductase in a dated tree of life. Branches in the dated tree of life obtained from Mahendrarajah et al. [81] are colored according to the presence (yellow) or absence (gray) of HCO oxygen reductase. Eukaryotes were not included in the analysis and are therefore colored in higher gray tones, as are taxa that were not present in the comparative dataset. Brown dots at nodes represent possible origins of HCO oxygen reductase. Purple bars represent the percentage of strains within the taxa that have reductases. -- Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Bioenergetics](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Oxygen-Reductase-Origin-Followed.png?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Status Report
Oxygen Reductase Origin Followed The Great Oxidation Event And Terminated The Lomagundi Excursion
The history of Earth’s atmospheric oxygen is a cornerstone of evolutionary biology. While unequivocal evidence for an increase in atmospheric O2 marks the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) roughly 2.4 billion […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Status Report, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts
EAI Seminar: Deep Microbial Colonization During Impact-generated Hydrothermal Circulation Of Impact Structures (Video)
Henrik Drake, Professor, Linnaeus University, SwedenTuesday 10th February 2016, 16:00 CET
Posted inAnalog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Whole-planet Model Of The Earth Without Life For Terrestrial Exoplanet Studies
As the only known habitable (and inhabited) planet in the universe, Earth informs our search for life elsewhere. Future telescopes like the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) will soon look for […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
When Tropical Oceans On Earth Were Oxygen Oases
The tropical oceans that once served as oxygen-rich havens for Earth’s earliest complex life have become the planet’s largest marine dead zones. The dramatic reversal occurred hundreds of millions of […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Press Release
How Earth’s Greenhouse Age Ended 66 Million Years Ago
A 66 million-year-old mystery behind how our planet transformed from a tropical greenhouse to the ice-capped world of today has been unravelled by scientists.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Status Report
Mass Extinction Coincided With Expanded Continental Margin Euxinia During the Cambrian Age 4
Earth’s biosphere witnessed the first major extinction event in the Phanerozoic during the Cambrian Age 4, with a genera loss up to ∼45%. The traditional view suggested that marine anoxia […]