[Geobiology ] Impact crater hydrothermal systems, formed after asteroid and comet impacts, have been proposed as promising habitats for life on early Earth and as key targets in the search […]
microbiology
Posted inRadiation
AMMPER-2: A Spatially Explicit Agent-based Model Of Microbial Radiobiology With Redox Dye Simulation
[biorxiv.org] To reduce health risks for human space exploration, it is important to model the effects of deep-space radiation on biological systems.
![A heterotrophic ecosystem enabled by fermentation on Enceladus. [astro-ph.EP]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Fermentation.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inEnceladus
Fermentation Heterotrophy Can Reproduce Enceladus’s H2 And CH4 Under Limited Serpentinization
[astro-ph.EP] Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus is a prime target in the search for life beyond Earth. Abundant H2 and CH4 in Enceladus’s south-polar plume have been shown to be consistent […]
Posted inSample Return
An Interdisciplinary Approach To Sampling Hard Rock Cores Of The Oceanic Crust For Microbiological And Biogeochemical Research
[Scientific Drilling] Studying life in the deep, rocky subseafloor involves many layers of technological and methodological challenges, and each drilling project or expedition must make a series of choices to […]
Posted inMicrobiology & Virology
Assessing the Preservation of Polysaccharides from a Sea-Ice Bacterium Through Analog Icy Moon Plume Ejection
[Astrobiology (Journal)] Detection of complex organics emitted from Saturn’s moon Enceladus has intensified the search for biosignatures accessible to future missions.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather
Where Does Earth’s Nitrogen Go? Two Atoms Offer A Clue
[Science] Nitrogen is one of life’s building blocks, but it’s only helpful in the right amounts. Too much nitrogen in water, for example, can lead to poor water quality and […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology
Activity And Diversity Of Sulfate- and Methane-based Pathways Of Anaerobic Chitin And N-acetylglucosamine Degradation In Marine Sediments
[American Society of Microbiology] Sulfate reduction is estimated to account for half of the organic carbon respiration in anoxic, organic-rich ocean sediments. Sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRMs) typically oxidize simple carbon compounds, […]
Posted inMicrobiology & Virology
Bacteriophage Qβ: Six Decades at the Frontier of Molecular and Viral Evolution Genome, Particle And Mutational Landscape Of Bacteriophage Qβ
[q-bio.PE] Bacteriophage Qβ, first isolated in 1961, has served for more than six decades as a model system for molecular and viral evolution.
Posted inEnceladus
Life On Saturn’s Moon Enceladus Would Be Possible
[University of Regensburg] From a human perspective, Enceladus is anything but a comfortable place to live: Icy cold, hardly any oxygen, and – below its icy crust – a global […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports
NASA Scientists Search For Clues About Mars’ Past In Scotland
[NASA] This summer, NASA scientists headed to the Scottish Highlands to follow up on last year’s announcement of potential biosignatures on Mars and prepare for future research.