Animals, plants and many other living organisms inhale oxygen to “burn” (technically: oxidize) compounds like sugar into CO2 and water – a process during which the energy-rich molecule ATP is […]
Metabolism
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Polar / Alpine Expeditions, Status Report
Single-cell Imaging Reveals Efficient Nutrient Uptake And Growth Of Microalgae Darkening The Greenland Ice Sheet
Blooms of dark pigmented microalgae accelerate glacier and ice sheet melting by reducing the surface albedo.
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Insight Into How Some Species Thrive In Dark, Oxygen-free Environments
Most life on Earth relies on the sun’s energy for survival, but what about organisms in the deep sea that live beyond the reach of its rays? A new study […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
A Novel Quinone Biosynthetic Pathway Illuminates The Evolution Of Aerobic Metabolism
The dominant organisms in modern oxic ecosystems rely on respiratory quinones with high redox potential (HPQs) for electron transport in aerobic respiration and photosynthesis. The diversification of quinones, from low […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Structural Enzymology, Phylogenetics, Differentiation, and Symbolic Reflexivity at the Dawn of Biology
The reflexive translation of symbols in one chemical language to another defined genetics. Yet, the co-linearity of codons and amino acids is so commonplace an idea that few even ask […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Creating A Simplified Form Of Life
It is one of the most fundamental questions in science: how can lifeless molecules come together to form a living cell? Bert Poolman, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Metabolic Secret Of Ethane-consuming Archaea Unraveled
Seeps on the deep seafloor naturally emit alkanes, which are pollutants that are potentially dangerous to life and act on global warming. Fortunately, the sediments around the seeps host microbes […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Pinpointing Conditions for a Metabolic Origin of Life: Underlying Mechanisms and the Role of Coenzymes
Famously found written on the blackboard of physicist Richard Feynman after his death was the phrase, “What I cannot create, I do not understand.” From this perspective, recreating the origin […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Non-thermodynamic Factors Affect Competition Between Thermophilic Chemolithoautotrophs From Deep-sea Hydrothermal Vents
Various environmental factors, including H2 availability, metabolic tradeoffs, optimal growth temperature, stochasticity, and hydrology, were examined to determine if they affect microbial competition between three autotrophic thermophiles.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Sample Return, Terraforming & Geoengineering, Venus
Simple Lipids Form Stable Higher-order Structures In Concentrated Sulfuric Acid
Venus has become a target of astrobiological interest because it is physically accessible to direct exploration, unlike exoplanets. So far this interest has been motivated not by the explicit expectation […]