Nitrogen (N) plays a crucial role in controlling biological productivity. However, it remains unknown how Earth’s earliest ecosystems accessed bioavailable forms of nitrogen.
Great Oxygenation Event
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release
Anabaena Learns A New Trick – Cyanobacteria Surprise Scientists With Evolutionary Shift
Photosynthetic bacteria helped shape Planet Earth. Among them are cyanobacteria that produced the oxygen in our atmosphere and made complex life possible, captivating scientists for decades. Now, researchers at the […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Orbitally-Driven Nutrient Pulses Linked to Early Cambrian Periodic Oxygenation and Animal Radiation
During the Cambrian Explosion, episodic radiations of major animal phyla occurred in concert with repeated coupled carbon-sulfur isotope excursions.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Hot Springs In Japan Give Insight Into Ancient Microbial Life On Earth
Earth was not always the blue-green world we know today: the early Earth’s oxygen levels were about a million times lower than we now experience. There were no forests and […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Molecular Clock Analysis Shows Bacteria Used Oxygen Long Before Widespread Photosynthesis
Microbial organisms dominate life on Earth, but tracing their early history and evolution is difficult because they rarely fossilize. Determining when exactly a particular group of microbes first appeared is […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Machine Learning Helps Construct An Evolutionary Timeline Of Bacteria
University of Queensland scientists have helped to construct a detailed timeline for bacterial evolution, suggesting some bacteria used oxygen long before evolving the ability to produce it through photosynthesis.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Are Volcanoes Behind The Oxygen We Breathe?
It is widely believed that Earth’s atmosphere has been rich in oxygen for about 2.5 billion years due to a relatively rapid increase in microorganisms capable of performing photosynthesis. Researchers, […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Iron Was Earth Life’s Primeval Metal
Every living organism uses tiny quantities of metals to carry out biological functions, including breathing, transcribing DNA, turning food into energy, or any number of essential life processes.
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 inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
New Vestiges Of The First Life On Earth Discovered In Saudi Arabia
Stromatolites are the earliest geological record of life on Earth. These curious biotic structures are made of algae carpets growing toward the light and precipitating carbonates.