Introduction: Biomarkers for life on Earth are an important starting point to guide the search for life elsewhere. However, the search for life beyond Earth should incorporate technologies capable of […]
DNA
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biophysics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release
Analog DNA Circuit Does Math In A Test Tube
Often described as the blueprint of life, DNA contains the instructions for making every living thing from a human to a house fly. But in recent decades, some researchers have […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release
DNA's Structure Is Well-Suited For Genomes
A new study could explain why DNA and not RNA, its older chemical cousin, is the main repository of genetic information. The DNA double helix is a more forgiving molecule […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Sequencing DNA in Space
NASA is not often known for making the best use of existing COTS (commercial off the shelf technology) aboard the ISS. Then again, sometimes they are. This is an example […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Sequencing an Antarctic Extremophile – A cold-loving microbe from the Upper Dry Valleys
A high-quality draft genome sequence has been published for the Antarctic microbe Rhodococcus sp. JG-3. This psychrophilic (cold-loving) microorganism was isolated from permafrost in Antarctica’s Upper Dry Valleys and has been […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release, Tardigrades
A Huge Chunk of a Tardigrade's Genome Comes From Foreign DNA
Tardigrades, nearly microscopic animals that can survive the harshest of environments, including outer space, hold the record for the animal that has the most foreign DNA Researchers from the University […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
Meteorite Impacts Can Create DNA Building Blocks
A new study shown that meteorite impacts on ancient oceans may have created nucleobases and amino acids. Researchers from Tohoku University, National Institute for Materials Science and Hiroshima University discovered […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
Life on Other Planets: Alternative Chemistries of Life
Ideas about directing evolution of life forms on Earth and finding life on other planets are rapidly morphing from science-fiction fantasy into mainstream science, says David Lynn, a chemist at […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
A Synthetic Organism That Transmits Novel DNA Bases
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have engineered a bacterium whose genetic material includes an added pair of DNA “letters,” or bases, not found in nature. The cells of this […]
Posted inMissions & Hardware, Radiation
New Class of Biological Detectors for WIMPs
Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) may constitute a large fraction of the matter in the Universe. There are excess events in the data of DAMA/LIBRA, CoGeNT, CRESST-II, and recently CDMS-Si, […]