AIST researchers, in collaboration with JAMSTEC, Hokkaido University and Tohoku University, have succeeded in cultivating an ultrasmall bacterial strain parasitizing archaea and classified the strain PMX.108T as new species and […]
Hokkaido University
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
Life’s Building Blocks Discovered In Samples From Asteroid Bennu
Japanese collaborators detected all five nucleobases — building blocks of DNA and RNA — in samples returned from asteroid Bennu by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Understanding The Molecular Mechanisms Involved In Nitrous Oxide Reduction By Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vent Bacteria
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is the third most potent greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide and methane. It can also be oxidized by physical processes to form ozone-depleting substances. Atmospheric concentrations of […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Comets and Asteroids, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Space Weather & Heliophysics
Probing The Effects Of Interplanetary Space On Asteroid Ryugu
Samples reveal evidence of changes experienced by the surface of asteroid Ryugu, some probably due to micrometeoroid bombardment.
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving
A New Bacterial Species From A Hydrothermal Vent Throws Light On Their Evolution
Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are hot springs on the ocean floor. Sea water penetrates into the ocean crust, becomes heated, and rises to the seafloor surface carrying dissolved nutrients. Around these […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Carbon Atoms Coming Together In Space
Lab-based studies reveal how carbon atoms diffuse on the surface of interstellar ice grains to form complex organic compounds, crucial to reveal the chemical complexity in the universe.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
Uracil Has Been Found In Asteroid Ryugu Samples
Researchers have analyzed samples of asteroid Ryugu collected by the Japanese Space Agency’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft and found uracil—one of the informational units that make up RNA, the molecules that contain […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Deep-sea Black Carbon Comes From Hydrothermal Vents
Hydrothermal vents have been identified as a previously undiscovered source of dissolved black carbon in the oceans, furthering the understanding of the role of oceans as a carbon sink.
Posted inAstrochemistry
Key Building Block For Organic Molecules Discovered In Meteorites
Scientists from Japan and the USA have confirmed the presence in meteorites of a key organic molecule which may have been used to build other organic molecules, including some used […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
New Insight Into The Origin Of Water On Earth
Scientists have found the interstellar organic matter could produce an abundant supply of water by heating, suggesting that organic matter could be the source of terrestrial water. There remains a […]