A University of Texas at Austin-led team has reconstructed the most detailed map to date of the molecular machines that carried out the functions of life in an ancient ancestor […]
evolution
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Deep-time Consistency In Proteome Elemental Composition Across Cellular And Viral Life
Proteins are constructed from a limited alphabet of ~20 amino acids, yet the origins and selection of this specific alphabet are unresolved.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Membrane Information Organization At The Origin Of Life: From Interfaces To Informational Bodies
Membranes are usually treated as passive containers in origin-of-life models, confining prebiotic chemistry, buffering diffusion, and sustaining gradients.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, People Of Astrobiology, Status Report
Liquid–liquid Phase Separation As A Driver Of Abiogenesis And Evolution
The origin of life may have emerged through physical mechanisms that enable molecular organization and self-assembly. Building on Alexander Oparin’s concept of coacervate droplets, liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) offers a […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return
Early Complex Earth Life Clung To Oxygenated Seafloors For Hundreds Of Millions Of Years
From the highest mountains to the deepest ocean, the driest desert to the lushest jungle, Earth displays a dazzling array of lifeforms. And eukaryotes account for many of these lifeforms, […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
New Astrobiology Special Collection Explores Emerging Scientific Evidence For Land-based Origins Of Life
The scientific study of life’s origins is undergoing a major transition, from a decades-long focus on deep-sea hydrothermal vents toward increasing investigation of hot springs and other chemically dynamic environments […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Gravitational Biology, Microbiology & Virology, Microgravity, Origin & Evolution of Life, Space Life Science, Status Report
Gravity As A Boundary Condition For The Evolution Of Three-Dimensional Multicellularity
Life evolved under a persistent 1 g field that is continuous, ubiquitous, and directionally structured.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Cryobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return
A New Explanation For Snowball Earth
A new study by Earth scientists in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) offers an explanation for one of Earth’s great climate puzzles: how […]
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Plant Biology, Press Release
The Big Bang Of Plant life: Discovery Sheds Light On How Cells Form Walls
Cell walls are a crucial structure of plant life, protecting cells from damage, giving plants shape, and containing energy-rich nutrients. And yet the process of how the walls begin to […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Showing The Math For Earth’s First — And Sudden — Spark Of Life
Isolating the first spark of life on Earth is a matter of biology, geology, and chemistry — but it’s also an amazing math problem. At least, that’s how Varun Varanasi […]