Biologics, such as pharmaceutical peptides, have notoriously short shelf lives, insufficient for long-duration space flight missions to the Moon or Mars.
biorxiv.org
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
The RNA-DNA World And The Emergence Of DNA-encoded Heritable Traits
The RNA world hypothesis confers a central role to RNA molecules in information encoding and catalysis.
Posted inCryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microgravity, Status Report, Tardigrades
Comparative Ultrastructure Study Of Tardigrade Ramazzottius Varieornatus Hydrated State, After Desiccation, And During Rehydration
Tardigrades can survive hostile environments such as desiccation by adopting a state of anhydrobiosis. Numerous tardigrade species have been described thus far, and recent genome and transcriptome analyses revealed that […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Plant Biology, Status Report
An Orphan Protein Drove The Ecological Expansion Of Nitrogen Fixation
Nitrogenases have catalyzed biological nitrogen fixation for billions of years and revolutionized planet Earth by supplying essential nitrogen to the biosphere.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Metagenome Mining And Functional Analysis Reveal Oxidized Guanine DNA Repair At The Lost City Hydrothermal Field
The GO DNA repair system protects against GC → TC mutations by finding and removing oxidized guanine. The system is mechanistically well understood but its origins are unknown. We searched […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Radiation, Status Report
Extreme UVC Radiation Tolerance In Bacteria Recovered From Earth’s Stratosphere
Aerosolized microbes surviving transport to and in the stratosphere endure extremes of low temperature, atmospheric pressure, and relative humidity, and high shortwave ultraviolet radiation flux. However, the genetic determinants for […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
A Prebiotic Genetic Alphabet As An Early Darwinian Ancestor For Pre-RNA Evolution
RNA-based genetic code is thought to be central to life’s emergence due to its dual ability for information transfer and catalysis. Nonetheless, the genetic code of early life was potentially […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
RNA-catalyzed RNA Ligation Within Prebiotically Plausible Model Protocells
Demonstrating RNA catalysis within prebiotically relevant models of primordial cells (protocells) remains a challenge in Origins of life research.
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Radiation, Status Report
Geography And Environmental Pressure Are Predictive Of Class-specific Radioresistance In Black Fungi
Black fungi are among the most resistant organisms to ionizing radiation on Earth.
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Culexarchaeia, A Novel Archaeal Class Of Anaerobic Generalists Inhabiting Geothermal Environments
Geothermal environments, including terrestrial hot springs and deep-sea hydrothermal sediments, often contain many poorly understood lineages of archaea.