A new study from NYU Abu Dhabi has found that high-energy particles from space, known as cosmic rays, could create the energy needed to support life underground on planets and […]
biophysics
Electron Configuration And Catalytic Logic: A Physicochemical Framework For The Inorganic Origins Of Life
We present a physicochemical framework for understanding the emergence of catalytic logic at the origin of life. In this view, early catalytic systems did not depend on genetic encoding or […]
Ocean Sugars Are Responsible For A Large Part Of The Ice Nuclei In Clouds Over Southern Oceans
Current climate models have so far been unable to adequately reproduce the clouds over the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. An international team has now taken an important step towards filling […]
UVC-Intense Exoplanets May Not Be Uninhabitable: Evidence from a Desert Lichen
Many of the recently discovered Earth-like exoplanets are hosted by M and F stars, stars that emit intense UVC, especially during a flare.
Life At The Extremes: Maximally Divergent Microbes With Similar Genomic Signatures Linked To Extreme Environments
Extreme environments impose strong mutation and selection pressures that drive distinctive, yet understudied, genomic adaptations in extremophiles.
The Possible Crystallization Process in the Origin of Bacteria, Archaea, Viruses, and Mobile Elements
We propose a hypothesis for the simultaneous emergence of bacteria, archaea, viruses, and mobile elements by sequential and concrete biochemical pathways.
Perspective: Life On Venus?
Venus is not generally at the forefront when considering extraterrestrial life. Yet, based on the physical similarities and proximity to Earth and with the little knowledge of its evolutionary history, […]
Light-to-electricity Nanodevice Reveals How Earth’s Oldest Surviving Cyanobacteria Worked
An international team of scientists have unlocked a key piece of Earth’s evolutionary puzzle by decoding the structure of a light-harvesting “nanodevice” in one of the planet’s most ancient lineages […]
Protocell Formation On Micrometeorites
We report on the formation of membranous protocells by self-assembly of lipids on micrometeorites, the extraterrestrial particles that have been continuously reaching the surface of the Earth ever since its […]
Molecular Cloud Biology
Some astrobiological models suggest that molecular clouds may serve as habitats for extraterrestrial life.
