biophysics Archives

A: Microscope images of the aragonite host showing two survey areas (M1 and M2). B: Area M1 showing micrometer-sized fossil structures in more detail. Figure adapted from Tulej et al., 2015.

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Laser-based Mass Spectrometry For The Detection Of Signatures Of Life Within Our Solar System

by Keith CowingApril 22, 2026April 22, 2026

The search for signatures of life beyond Earth has been a major goal of space research and astrobiology for decades. The combination of expanded knowledge on Solar System bodies from […]

Down to the core. From left to right: When rebuilt outside of living cells, CorM forms dynamic filaments. Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) image of purified CorM filaments. Successive zoom-ins show the reconstructed 3D electron density map of the CorM filament, followed by the corresponding atomic model, illustrating the filaments’ assembly into a bipolar double-stranded filament. Credit© Springstein et al. / Science

Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release

Anabaena Learns A New Trick – Cyanobacteria Surprise Scientists With Evolutionary Shift

by Keith CowingApril 17, 2026April 17, 2026

Photosynthetic bacteria helped shape Planet Earth. Among them are cyanobacteria that produced the oxygen in our atmosphere and made complex life possible, captivating scientists for decades. Now, researchers at the […]

Representative organic matter in Chang'e-6 (A–B) and Chang'e-5 (C–D) lunar soils. Secondary electron images acquired by scanning electron microscopy overlaid with carbon elemental maps from energy-dispersive spectroscopy. Credit Image by HAO Jialong's Group

Artemis & Lunar Exploration, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Moon, Press Release

Chang’e Mission Samples Reveal How Exogenous Organic Matter Evolves On The Moon

by Keith CowingApril 13, 2026April 13, 2026

Elements essential to life, such as carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur, were “delivered” to the Earth and Moon during the early stages of the Solar System via asteroids and […]

A) Subcluster of viral genomes within the family Microviridae. Network constructed using vConTACT3 and visualized in Cytoscape. Reference nodes are colored by genus (RefSeq and vConTACT3 predictions), while fumarole viruses are colored by sample site. Edges represent genesharing strength. The blue node (phiX174) forms a weakly resolved clade with fumarole viruses in the maximum-likelihood phylogeny based on major capsid protein amino acid sequences. B) Pairwise genome comparisons of RefSeq and fumarole Microviridae using local alignment (MMseqs2). The top row and left column indicate predicted genus assignments (vConTACT3) for fumarole and RefSeq viruses. The top-left quadrant shows RefSeq–RefSeq comparisons; the top-right shows fumarole–RefSeq comparisons (RefSeq colored by genus). The second row (genome source) is colored by fumarole sample site. The star denotes comparisons involving the phiX174 RefSeq genome. -- biorxiv.org

Analog 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 CowingApril 9, 2026April 9, 2026

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 […]

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Behavior Of Biomolecules Under High-pressure Torsion And Its Implications For Astrobiology

by Keith CowingApril 5, 2026April 5, 2026

Understanding the fate of biomolecules under extreme conditions is central to astrobiology and the origin of life.

Artistic representation of late Hadean Earth ≈4 Ga ago, created with the AI software “Sora”. -- Life

Astrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Chemical Routes to Primitive Membranes: Prebiotic Lipid Formation at the Origin of Life

by Keith CowingApril 2, 2026April 2, 2026

The origin of life is, to the best of our knowledge, impossible to imagine without the formation of complex prebiotic biomolecules such as RNA, DNA, proteins and lipids.

Photograph of the model hot spring pools system showing the assembled pools with temperature probes placed in the cups and heating pads inserted underneath for controlling temperature. Power supply provides electricity for heating pads, and an Arduino Uno is connected via USB-type-C cable to a laptop for PID (Proportional-IntegralDerivative) control. Blue-colored LEDs in the Arduino Uno turn off when the setpoint is reached and back on to maintain the temperature in the rehydration phase of the WD cycles. Water flow control is managed by the mini-peristaltic pumps connected to the water control unit. -- Astrobiology

Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

A Modular 3D-Printed Design To Investigate Prebiotic Chemical Systems In Hot Spring Pools

by Keith CowingMarch 30, 2026June 10, 2026

The emergence of protocells, membranous compartments with encapsulated genetic material, was a crucial step in life’s origin and evolution. The hot spring hypothesis for the origin of life suggests that […]

Upper Panels. Maps of N×ρ for CO, CO2, CH4, CH3OH, and H2O. The white arrow shows the projected direction of the Sun. Lower. Maps of molecular rotational temperatures. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Coma Physics Of An Interstellar Object: JWST Spatial-Spectral Mapping Of 3I/ATLAS

by Keith CowingMarch 30, 2026March 30, 2026

We report a survey of molecular emission from cometary volatiles using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) toward interstellar object 3I/ATLAS carried out on UT 2025 December 22 and 23 […]

A) A close-up, exploded view of the spinpod optical system and diagram of operations. To take fluorescence measurements, excitation light first passes through a bidirectional optical probe from the LED light source to illuminate liquid cultures encased in a spinpod. Fluorescence emission then returns through the optical probe to the spectrometer for measurement, through a longpass filter that reduces signal from the excitation wavelength. To take optical density measurements, a red LED mounted toward the optical probe but on the opposite side of the spinpod illuminates the spinpod ("OD illumination hardware"). This light passes through the spinpod and to the spectrometer without filtering. The spinpod is housed in two joined Carrier Extenders with additional Carrier Extenders placed inline as spacers. B) Photograph of the system diagrammed in panel A; optical probe is in front. Tape has been applied to the outside of carrier extenders to shield the optical path from external light. C) and D) Rear and front close-up views, respectively, of the OD illumination hardware. -- biorxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Life Support Systems, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Space Stations, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Real-time, In Situ Fluorescence And Optical Density Measurements Of Liquid Cultures In Simulated Microgravity

by Keith CowingMarch 30, 2026March 30, 2026

As human space exploration expands to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, there is a growing need to study the effects of altered gravity on the microbial systems that we will […]

Observed Stereoisomeric Ratio (OSR) - defined as the column density ratio between the higher and the lower-energy isomer - for the different stereoisomeric pairs gathered in Table 1 (points), overlaid with the thermodynamic equilibrium prediction (g×e−∆E/Tkin at g = 1, colored area), as a function of the relative energy (∆E= Ehigher- Elower) between isomers. The points corresponding to the detections are colored according to the particular source Tkin (see Tables 1 and 2), following the color code of the vertical bar. For CH3CH2OH, CH3CH2OCHO, CH2CHCH2CN, CH3CH2CH2CN and (CH3)2CHOH, the observational points were “corrected” (indicated with *) accounting for the double degeneracy of one of the isomers in the pair (the higher-energy for the first three, the lower-energy for the last two), multiplying the corresponding ratios shown in Table 1 by 1/g=1/2, 1/2, 1/2, 2 and 2, respectively, to match the displayed thermodynamic prediction which omits this fact. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report

Interstellar Stereoisomerism

by Keith CowingMarch 29, 2026March 29, 2026

The increasing detection of new molecules in the interstellar medium (ISM) shows that stereoisomerism is a fundamental contributor to interstellar molecular complexity.

biophysics

Laser-based Mass Spectrometry For The Detection Of Signatures Of Life Within Our Solar System

Anabaena Learns A New Trick – Cyanobacteria Surprise Scientists With Evolutionary Shift

Chang’e Mission Samples Reveal How Exogenous Organic Matter Evolves On The Moon

Hawaiian Geothermal Fumaroles Contain Diverse and Novel Viruses

Behavior Of Biomolecules Under High-pressure Torsion And Its Implications For Astrobiology

Chemical Routes to Primitive Membranes: Prebiotic Lipid Formation at the Origin of Life

A Modular 3D-Printed Design To Investigate Prebiotic Chemical Systems In Hot Spring Pools

Coma Physics Of An Interstellar Object: JWST Spatial-Spectral Mapping Of 3I/ATLAS

Real-time, In Situ Fluorescence And Optical Density Measurements Of Liquid Cultures In Simulated Microgravity

Interstellar Stereoisomerism

NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #1,206 2 July 2026 (Space Life Science Research Results)

Older Than The Sun: Astronomers Find New Clues To The Origin Of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

Carl Sagan Month: Call For Participation

The Habitable Worlds Observatory Technology Development Plan

Searching For The Elusive CH2+ With The James Webb Space Telescope. Another Carbocation To Constrain Astrochemical Networks