At the end of the Paleocene and beginning of the Eocene epochs, between 59 to 51 million years ago, Earth experienced dramatic warming periods, both gradual periods stretching millions of […]
Fossil
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Cretaceous Amber Inclusions Illuminate The Evolutionary Origin Of Tardigrades
Tardigrades are a diverse phylum of microscopic invertebrates widely known for their extreme survival capabilities. Molecular clocks suggest that tardigrades diverged from other panarthropods before the Cambrian, but their fossil […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Press Release, Sample Return, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Digitizing Earth’s Fossil Record With Low-cost 3D Scanning
Editor’s note: As we begin to expand our search for life to other worlds we are going to need to be economical interms of the equipment we send and how […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Sea Level Changes Shaped Early Life On Earth, Fossil Study Reveals
A newly developed timeline of early animal fossils reveals a link between sea levels, changes in marine oxygen, and the appearance of the earliest ancestors of present-day animals.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return
Mars Perseverance Rover Imagery Of A Rock With Possible Biosignatures
Editor’s note: I will make this simple: did NASA find evidence of life on Mars? No. Did NASA find an interesting rock feature that might signal or indicate that there […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Orbital View Of Pilbara, Australia Where Some Of Earth’s Oldest Fossils Can Be Found
The Pilbara in northwestern Australia exposes some of the oldest rocks on Earth, over 3.6 billion years old. The iron-rich rocks formed before the presence of atmospheric oxygen, and life […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Exploring Microbial Mat Communities In Extreme Environments
Microbial mats are biodiverse communities within which multiple functional groups of microbes combine to capture, sequester and recycle nutrients and energy. They are one of the earliest known and organized […]
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Microfossil Qingjiangonema Sheds Light Evolution Of Sulfate-reducing Bacteria In Response To Oxygenation
Microbial sulfate reduction dating back to the Paleoarchean plays a crucial role in driving global carbon and sulfur cycles in ancient and modern Earth.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
2.7 Billion Year Old Tumbiana Stromatolite From An Ancient Lakebed In Australia
This stromatolite formed about 2.7 billion years ago and was collected from an ancient lake environment preserved in the Tumbiana Formation, a succession of clastic and carbonate rocks outcropping along […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Press Release
Earth’s Earliest Forest Revealed In Somerset Fossils
The oldest fossilised forest known on Earth – dating from 390 million years ago – has been found in the high sandstone cliffs along the Devon and Somerset coast of […]