Komatiites represent the oldest known terrestrial rocks, and their composition has been cataloged as the closest to that of the first terrestrial crust after the cooling of the magma ocean.
Life
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
The Role Of Minerals In The Early Stage Of The Hadean Earth
In particular, the interaction between functional ribozymes and ancient minerals under simulated primitive conditions is a recent research focus.
Posted inEuropa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Modeling Virus and Bacteria Populations in Europa’s Subsurface Ocean
The search for life in the universe is often informed by the study of “extreme” environments on Earth, which provide analogs for habitable locations in the Solar System, and whose […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Ceres, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Bacterial Utilisation Of Aliphatic Organics: Is the Dwarf Planet Ceres Habitable?
The regolith environment and associated organic material on Ceres is analogous to environments that existed on Earth 3–4 billion years ago.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
How Did Life Emerge In Chemically Complex Messy Environments?
One of the problems that make it difficult to solve the mystery of the origin of life is determining how life emerged in chemically complex messy environments on primitive Earth.
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Rolling Circles As A Means Of Encoding Genes In The RNA World
The rolling circle mechanism found in viroids and some RNA viruses is a likely way that replication could have begun in the RNA World.
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Examining Proteomes And Earth’s Deep Oceans As The Location Of The Origin of Terrestrial Life
Some standard arguments are reviewed supporting deep ocean trenches as a likely location for the origin of terrestrial life.
Posted inAstrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Icy Worlds, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Panspermia, Status Report
New Signatures of Bio-Molecular Complexity in the Hypervelocity Impact Ejecta of Icy Moon Analogues
Impact delivery of prebiotic compounds to the early Earth from an impacting comet is considered to be one of the possible ways by which prebiotic molecules arrived on the Earth.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: Method for Accurate Detection of Amino Acids and Mycotoxins in Planetary Atmospheres
We present a systematic analysis of a large number of mass spectra accumulated as the number of ion fragments recorded in unit mass-to-charge detector channels.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Membrane Structure Obtained In An Experimental Evolution Process
Recently, an evolution experiment was carried out in a cyclic process, which involved periodic vesicle formation in combination with peptide and vesicle selection.