While humans have an esthetic liking for symmetry in everything, nature prefers asymmetric, single-handed forms when it comes to amino acids—the building blocks of proteins, and, by extension, all things […]
DNA
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microgravity, Status Report
Toward Detecting Biosignatures of DNA, Lipids, and Metabolic Intermediates from Bacteria in Ice Grains Emitted by Enceladus and Europa
The reliable identification of biosignatures is key to the search for life elsewhere.
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving
Tricorder / Away Team Tech: A Drone That Collects Environmental DNA From Trees
Ecologists are increasingly using traces of genetic material left behind by living organisms left behind in the environment, called environmental DNA (eDNA), to catalogue and monitor biodiversity. Based on these […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Tricorders & Sensors, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts
Away Team Tech: Self-Contained Device Isolates Biological Samples
Overview JSC is looking to interested parties to license and commercialize this patented technology. Innovators at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) developed a patented self-contained device for isolating deoxyribonucleic acid […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
2.6 Billion-year-old Ancestors Of The CRISPR Gene-editing Tool Have Been Resurrected
An international research group has for the first time reconstructed ancestors dating back 2.6 billion years of the well-known CRISPR-Cas system, and studied their evolution over time.
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Stations
Enhanced Assembly Of Bacteriophage T7 Produced In Cell-free Reactions Under Simulated Microgravity
On-demand biomanufacturing has the potential to improve healthcare and self-sufficiency during space missions.
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Astrobiologists Expand Knowledge Of Virus Diversity
Astrobiologists supported by NASA have completed a study of RNA viruses on Earth and have vastly expanded knowledge of virus diversity. Currently, there are thought to be five broad categories […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release
Biosignatures: Discovery Of Earth’s Oldest DNA Breaks Record By One Million Years
Two-million-year-old DNA has been identified for the first time – opening a ‘game-changing’ new chapter in the history of evolution.
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Oldest Marine DNA Discovered In Antarctic Sediments
Scientists have discovered one million year old marine DNA in deep-sea sediments of the Scotia Sea, north of the Antarctic continent.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Host-associated Phages Disperse Across The Extraterrestrial Analogue Antarctica
Extreme Antarctic conditions provide one of the closest analogues of extraterrestrial environments. Since air and snow samples, especially from polar regions, yield DNA amounts in the lower picogram range, binning […]