A study involving the University of Cambridge has used virtual recreations of the earliest animal ecosystems, known as marine animal forests, to demonstrate the part they played in the evolution […]
fossils
Posted inAstrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ancient Earth’s Ocean Oxygenation Timeline Revealed
New study introduces a pioneering application of dolomite U-Pb geochronology, shedding new light on the evolution of ancient marine environments. By uncovering discrepancies in dolomite samples U-Pb ratios, the team […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Mars, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Could Life Have Started On Mars? Planetary Conditions That Assemble And Destroy Protocells
Early Mars was likely habitable, but could life actually have started there? While cellular life emerged from prebiotic chemistry through a pre-Darwinian selection process relevant to both Earth and Mars, […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Optical Photothermal Infrared Spectroscopy (O-PTIR): A Promising New Tool For Bench-top Analytical Palaeontology At The Sub-micron Scale
The identification of preserved organic material within fossils is challenging. Well-established vibrational spectroscopy techniques, such as micro-FTIR (Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy), have been widely used to investigate organic fossils molecular […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Microfossils Shed Light On The Long Fossil Record Of Euglenoids
Hiding in the shadows, euglenoids are a fascinating group of single-celled protists that are neither plant nor animal.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
New Pieces In The Puzzle Of First Life On Earth
Microorganisms were the first forms of life on our planet. The clues are written in 3.5 billion-year-old rocks by geochemical and morphological traces, such as chemical compounds or structures that […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
A Key Moment In The Evolution Of Life On Earth Captured In Fossils
Curtin-led research has for the first time precisely dated some of the oldest fossils of complex multicellular life in the world, helping to track a pivotal moment in the history […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
An Evolutionary Timescale For Bacteria Calibrated Using The Great Oxidation Event
Most of life’s diversity and history is microbial but it has left a meagre fossil record, greatly hindering understanding of evolution in deep time.
Posted inFossils & Paleontology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Discovery Of A 500-million-year-old Fossil Reveals The Astonishing Secrets Of Tunicate Origins
Karma Nanglu says his favorite animal is whichever one he’s working on. But his latest subject may hold first place status for a while: a 500-million-year-old fossil from the wonderfully […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Press Release
A Lost World Of Our Early Ancestors Discovered In Billion-year-old Rocks
The newly discovered record of so-called protosteroids was shown to be surprisingly abundant throughout Earth´s Middle Ages.