Micro organisms from our planet could survive on celestial bodies where water is present, such as Mars. That is the conclusion of PhD candidate Tommaso Zaccaria after experiments with simulated […]
microbiology
Bipolar Investigation Of Near-surface Glacial Ice Reveals An Active Microbial Ecosystem Driven By Photosynthesis And Chemolithoautotrophy
Despite extreme conditions including freezing temperatures, low water activity, and few nutrients, active microorganisms are thought to inhabit glacial ice, yet little is known about their identities and methods of […]
Protecting Earth From Extraterrestrial Contamination: The Case For A Lunar Biocontainment Facility
The advancement of space exploration into an era of sample return missions from Mars, asteroids, and icy moons raises the potential for biological contamination either to or from Earth.
Probing The Habitability Of Potential Sulfuric Acid Rich Subsurface Lakes In Europa’s Ice Shell Via Saci/STIV Integrated Models
Experimentally modeling the habitability of extreme ocean world conditions, such as those on Jupiter’s moon: Europa, would benefit from integrated microbe-virus model studies to provide both a microbial model and […]
Scientists Reveal Disease Genes From Reconstruction Of Ancestor To All Complex Life
A University of Texas at Austin-led team has reconstructed the most detailed map to date of the molecular machines that carried out the functions of life in an ancient ancestor […]
Microfossils interpreted as animal traces were actually algae and bactéria
A reexamination of microfossils found in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul shows that the marks previously interpreted as traces of worms or other small oceanic animals are […]
Microbial Growth Rates Captured Using Raman-SIP reveal A Highly Active Subsurface Biosphere Fueled By Serpentinization
Microbial productivity, metabolite fluxes, nutrient cycling and biosignatures are directly linked to microbial growth rates, which remain largely unknown in subsurface environments.
Early Complex Life Lived In Oxygenated Seas, Challenging Long‑held Views Of Evolution
The earliest known eukaryotes, the ancestors of all complex life on Earth, lived in oxygenated, shallow marine environments nearly 1.7 billion years ago, according to a new study led by […]
Asteroid Impact Site Reveals Possible Traces Of Early Life
A discovery by a South Korean research team suggests that impact-generated lakes may have fostered early oxygen-producing life.
Radiation-Resistant Microbes: Pioneers for Life Beyond Earth
Radiation is one of the most pervasive environmental stressors that has profoundly influenced microbial evolution, driving the development of intricate survival strategies in extreme environments.
