[astro-ph.EP] The classical circumstellar habitable zone restricts the search for life to planetary surfaces where stellar irradiation sustains liquid water, overlooking vast subsurface environments.
deep biosphere
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Metagenomics Deciphers Diagenetic Processes Of Ferruginous Mineralization In The Deep Biosphere
[Nature Communications Earth & Environment] Ferruginous conditions in the Precambrian oceans gave rise to ancient iron formations that contain the oldest recognized traces of life in the form of mineral […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Rock-eating Fungi Flourish Deep Within Earth
[University of Michigan] Hundreds of feet below Earth’s surface, rocks and water teem with fungi and support complex ecosystems of tiny organisms, according to a University of Michigan study, which […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Sample Return From Earth’s Deep Biosphere
[Northwestern University] By studying life deep inside a former gold mine, a Northwestern University-led team of scientists uncovered evidence that Earth’s hidden biosphere operates less like a random collection of […]
Posted inCaves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Physiological Trade-offs Drive The archaeal Dominance And Carbon Turnover In Deep Subsurface
Marine sediments host a vast deep biosphere, yet how microorganisms persist under severe energy limitation and govern long-term organic carbon (OC) preservation remains poorly understood.
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report
A Thousand Meters Deep: Vertical Profiling of the Subterranean Microbiome of Gourgouthakas Cave
Introduction: Caves represent unique, nutrient-limited windows into the deep biosphere, yet the microbiology of the deep terrestrial subsurface remains remarkably under-explored. In this work, we took advantage of a rare […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Microbes May Have Lived Underground For More Than 1 Billion Years
A study using the thermal history and biosignatures of the upper few kilometers of some of the oldest rocks on Earth place constraints on the evolutionary history of microbes in […]