The deep entanglement of biomolecular structure and function with aqueous systems supports the view that water actively sculpted both molecules and processes during the origins of life and continues to […]
biophysics
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
The Impact Of Hydrogen Atom Tunneling On Aromatic Chemistry In TMC-1
Hydrogen atom tunneling likely plays a substantial role in the gas-phase chemistry of astrochemical environments. To determine the potential effect that it has on the chemical modeling of aromatic molecules, […]
Posted inBiochemistry & 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
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 […]
Posted inAstropharmacy / 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
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 […]
Posted inArtemis & 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
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 […]
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
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 inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Behavior Of Biomolecules Under High-pressure Torsion And Its Implications For Astrobiology
Understanding the fate of biomolecules under extreme conditions is central to astrobiology and the origin of life.
Posted inAstrochemistry, 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
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.
Posted inAstropharmacy / 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
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 […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, 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
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 […]