Astrobiology.com Editor’s Note: as we start to send our robotic astrobiology explorers to the Jovian system to explore icy ocean worlds Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, the skills developed exploring (the […]
NOAA, Schmidt Ocean Institute, and partners recently embarked on the In Search of Hydrothermal Lost Cities expedition on the Schmidt’s Research Vessel Falkor (too) to locate and observe hydrothermal vent […]
Editor’s note: Pythia’s Oasis is a newly-discovered seafloor seep off the coast of Oregon featuring water with a unique composition from an exceptionally deep location inside Earth. A varied ecosystem […]
The GO DNA repair system protects against GC → TC mutations by finding and removing oxidized guanine. The system is mechanistically well understood but its origins are unknown. We searched […]
The history of the Earth has been one of physical extremes—extreme atmospheric conditions, extreme chemical environments, and extreme temperatures. There was a time when the Earth was so hot all […]
Deep down in the ocean at tectonic plate boundaries, hot fluids rise from so-called hydrothermal vents. The fluids are devoid of oxygen and contain large amounts of metals such as […]
A new study by researchers at Portland State University and the University of Wisconsin finds that a rich diversity of microorganisms live in interdependent communities in high-temperature geothermal environments in […]
Although it is relatively small, Enceladus — the sixth largest of Saturn’s 83 moons — has been considered by astronomers to be one of the more compelling bodies in our […]
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.
NASA-supported Astrobiologists have revealed that alkaline hydrothermal vents in shallow seas could have been a favorable environment for the chemistry leading up to the origin of life on the early […]
