cryobiology Archives

McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. -- NASA

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Mars, Status Report

Humidity Enhancement in Dry Permafrost: The Effects of Temperature Cycles on Habitability

by Keith CowingApril 21, 2025April 21, 2025

The search for life in the solar system often focuses on water and on environments where habitable conditions exist, persistently or occasionally.

Scanning electron micrograph of Psychrobacter strain NF23T. Cells were grown on TSB for 24 h at 15 °C. Bar = 2 microns, -- MIDAS Field Guide

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Metabolic Responses, Cell Recoverability, and Protein Signatures of Three Extremophiles: Sustained Life During Long-Term Subzero Incubations

by Keith CowingApril 9, 2025April 9, 2025

Few halophilic strains have been examined in detail for their culturability and metabolic activity at subzero temperatures, within the ice matrix, over the longer term.

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

How Ancient Glaciers Helped Life Evolve On Earth

by Keith CowingApril 6, 2025April 6, 2025

New Curtin University research has revealed how massive ancient glaciers acted like giant bulldozers, reshaping Earth’s surface and paving the way for complex life to flourish.

a The black square in the map insert shows the location of the sampling site, located close to the PROMICE station QAS_M, upwind and next to the ice camp to minimize potential contamination. b Incubation of unfiltered melted ice samples in replicate serum bottles on the surface of the ice sheet. c Microscopic image of the supraglacial community prior incubation. Black arrows indicate fungal hyphae, and white arrows point to putatively dead Ancylonema nordenskiöldii cells, potentially infected by parasitic fungi. d Microscopic image of the supraglacial glacier ice algae, Ancylonema nordenskiöldii. Scale bars in (c) and (d) are 10 µm. -- Nature Communications

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Status Report

Single-cell Imaging Reveals Efficient Nutrient Uptake And Growth Of Microalgae Darkening The Greenland Ice Sheet

by Keith CowingMarch 18, 2025March 18, 2025

Blooms of dark pigmented microalgae accelerate glacier and ice sheet melting by reducing the surface albedo.

Lake Enigma, Antarctica -- Copernicus EU larger image

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Icy Worlds, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Microbial Diversity Discovered In Lake Enigma, Antarctica

by Keith CowingJanuary 20, 2025January 19, 2025

Scientists have discovered a thriving microbial ecosystem beneath 14 metres of ice covering Antarctica’s Lake Enigma, a previously thought-to-be entirely frozen lake.

(A) Fluorescence and Raman survey scan results. Visible image, fluorescence, and Raman spectra for three samples at Deep 1, Deep 2, and Mid, respectively. (B) Fluorescence and Raman detail scan results. Visible image, fluorescence, and Raman spectra for three samples at Deep 1, Deep 2, and Mid, respectively. -- Astrobiology via PubMed

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Icy Worlds, Mars, Sample Return, Status Report

Earth to Mars: A Protocol for Characterizing Permafrost in the Context of Climate Change as an Analog for Extraplanetary Exploration

by Keith CowingJanuary 20, 2025January 19, 2025

Permafrost is important from an exobiology and climate change perspective. It serves as an analog for extraplanetary exploration, and it threatens to emit globally significant amounts of greenhouse gases as […]

The results were striking. Despite temperatures below the freezing point, low oxygen levels and the absence of light, the ice cap was host to active chemolithoautotrophic bacteria. -- iC3 Polar Research Hub

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Icy Discovery In Svalbard Reveals A Vibrant World Of Life Waiting To Be Discovered

by Keith CowingOctober 25, 2024October 25, 2024

A new study led by a PhD candidate affiliated with the iC3 Polar Research Hub reveals how life can adapt and flourish even in the harshest conditions – and sheds […]

Vertical panels are grouped by ice grain radius and density whereas horizontal panels are grouped by dust content (by mass). Note that the vertical (depth) scale is different in the three rows: 0–700 cm in the top row, 0–40 cm in the middle row, and 0–6 cm in the bottom row. The solar zenith angle is zero in all cases, and the peak solar flux over the course of the year is used. -- Nature

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mars, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Radiation

Potential Microbial Habitats In Martian Ice

by Keith CowingOctober 23, 2024October 23, 2024

Dusty ice exposed at the surface of Mars could provide the conditions necessary for the presence of photosynthetic life, according to a modelling study. The findings, published in Communications Earth […]

Cold RNA misfolding and phase transitions. (A) Illustration of a multi-colored free-energy landscape (FEL) at different temperatures. The temperature arrow indicates the tendency to explore low-lying energy states with the FEL becoming rougher upon cooling: from high (red) to intermediate (green) and low (blue) temperatures. Transition state (TS) distances are typically shorter for M than N, denoting disordered and compact misfolded structures. The encircled schematic folds are for illustration purposes. (B) Temperature-dependent entropy (black) and enthalpy (grey) of N for H1L12A (empty symbols) and H1L4A (full symbols). The results are reported in Table S5 and S6, Supp. Info. Fits to the entropy values in the hot (red) and cold (blue) regimes for H1L12A (solid lines) and H1L4A (dashed lines) are also shown. The transition between the two regimes occurs at TG ⇠ 293K ⇠ 20C (dashed grey band) with a sudden change in Cp. Inset. Stability curves of H1L12A (empty black circles) and H1L4A (solid grey squares). Maximum stability is found at TS ⇠ 278K ⇠ 5C (vertical black line) with melting temperatures at TH ⇠ 370K ⇠ 100C (red lines). Extrapolations of G0(T) in the cold regime predict cold denaturation at TC ⇠ 220K ⇠ 50C for both hairpins (blue lines). -- PNAS

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release

A New Biochemistry For RNA At Low Temperatures

by Keith CowingSeptember 11, 2024September 11, 2024

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biological molecule with crucial functions in the genetics of organisms and plays a key role in the origin and evolution of life. With a composition […]

The Controlled Environment Facility at BAS will investigate how polar ecosystems adapt, including invertebrates such as sea sponges. -- BAS

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Cryobiology, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Iceworld Update: New Project To Unlock Earth Life’s Secrets In Extreme Cold

by Keith CowingSeptember 9, 2024

Cambridge researchers are set to explore the uncharted depths of life in the extreme cold, with findings that could reshape our understanding of biology and pave the way for future […]

cryobiology

Humidity Enhancement in Dry Permafrost: The Effects of Temperature Cycles on Habitability

Metabolic Responses, Cell Recoverability, and Protein Signatures of Three Extremophiles: Sustained Life During Long-Term Subzero Incubations

How Ancient Glaciers Helped Life Evolve On Earth

Single-cell Imaging Reveals Efficient Nutrient Uptake And Growth Of Microalgae Darkening The Greenland Ice Sheet

Microbial Diversity Discovered In Lake Enigma, Antarctica

Earth to Mars: A Protocol for Characterizing Permafrost in the Context of Climate Change as an Analog for Extraplanetary Exploration

Icy Discovery In Svalbard Reveals A Vibrant World Of Life Waiting To Be Discovered

Potential Microbial Habitats In Martian Ice

A New Biochemistry For RNA At Low Temperatures

Iceworld Update: New Project To Unlock Earth Life’s Secrets In Extreme Cold

NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #1,212 14 August 2026 (Space Life Science Research Results)

The Lost Oceans Of Venus

Crustal Water Reservoir On Early Mars

Assessing Cell Survival And Biosignature Preservation Of The Extremely Thermoacidophilic Archaeon Acidianus Manzaensis After Exposure To Mars-like Conditions

Concurrent Phosphite Oxidation And Adenosine Phosphorylation Under Prebiotic Evaporative Conditions