[Astrobiology (Journal) via PubMed] The 2.52 Ga Gamohaan Formation in South Africa offers critical insights into microbial ecosystems that inhabited deep-marine environments during the late Archean.
microfossil
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Direct Dating Of 3.5 Ga Biogenic Carbon In A Microbial Mat Remnant, Singhbhum Craton, India
[PNAS]. Kerogen, insoluble organic matter preserved in sediments, represents some of the earliest known terrestrial biosignatures which have provided important insights into the origin of life and planetary habitability.
Posted inHabitable Zones
Water Planet Habitability: Sea Level Is Linked To Earth’s Carbon Thermostat
[Syracuse University] Earth has a natural thermostat that has kept the planet habitable for more than a hundred million years. Scientists have struggled to fully explain how it works, but […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return
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 […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return
Early Complex Earth Life Clung To Oxygenated Seafloors For Hundreds Of Millions Of Years
From the highest mountains to the deepest ocean, the driest desert to the lushest jungle, Earth displays a dazzling array of lifeforms. And eukaryotes account for many of these lifeforms, […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Tricks of Nature From the Ancient Earth and Early Mars: Chemical Gardens Generate Biomorphs With High Preservation Potential
Observations of morphology are commonly used to evaluate the biogenicity of terrestrial microfossils and could constitute a crucial line of evidence for extraterrestrial life‐detection missions in the future.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrochemistry, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report
Deep Microbial Colonization in 2-Billion-Year-Old Ultramafic Rock from the Bushveld Complex
Archean cratons may provide stable microbial habitats in the deep subsurface, as evidenced by the discovery of billion-year-old crustal fluids.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Status Report
On The Nature Of The Earliest Known Lifeforms
Microfossils from the Paleoarchean Eon are the oldest known evidence of life. Despite their significance in understanding the history of life on Earth, any interpretation of the nature of these […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Sample Return
Biosignatures: Detection Of A Biopolymer In 500 Million Year Old Trilobite Fossils
A UT San Antonio-led international research team has identified chitin, the primary organic component of modern crab shells and insect exoskeletons, in trilobite fossils more than 500 million years old, […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Break In A Longstanding Mystery About The Origin Of Complex Life
The most widely accepted scientific explanation for the arrival of all complex life on Earth has had an unsolved mystery at its heart. According to the theory, all plants, animals […]