Tardigrades, often called “water bears”, are fascinating microscopic organisms known for their incredible resilience—they can survive anything from deadly radiation to arctic temperatures to the vacuum of space. And though […]
microfossil
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
520-million-year-old worm Fossil Solves Mystery Of How Modern Insects, Spiders and Crabs Evolved
A new study led by researchers at Durham University have uncovered an incredibly rare and detailed fossil, named Youti yuanshi, that gives a peek inside one of the earliest ancestors […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Operational Report: Drilling In The Moodies Group of the Barberton Greenstone Belt (BASE – Barberton Archean Surface Environments)
The BASE (Barberton Archean Surface Environments) scientific drilling project focused on recovering unweathered continuous core through strata of the Paleoarchean Moodies Group (ca. 3.2 Ga), central Barberton Greenstone Belt (BGB), […]
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Microfossil Qingjiangonema Sheds Light Evolution Of Sulfate-reducing Bacteria In Response To Oxygenation
Microbial sulfate reduction dating back to the Paleoarchean plays a crucial role in driving global carbon and sulfur cycles in ancient and modern Earth.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
New Vestiges Of The First Life On Earth Discovered In Saudi Arabia
Stromatolites are the earliest geological record of life on Earth. These curious biotic structures are made of algae carpets growing toward the light and precipitating carbonates.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microgravity, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
High Resolution Techniques Reveal Clues In 3.5 Billion-year-old Biomass
To learn about the first organisms on our planet, researchers have to analyse the rocks of the early Earth. These can only be found in a few places on the […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Stellar Cartography, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Cosmic Radiation Drives Quasi-periodic Changes In The Diversity Of Siliceous Marine Microplankton
Radiolarians are significant contributors to the oceanic primary productivity and the global silica cycle in the last 500 Myr. Their diversity throughout the Phanerozoic shows periodic fluctuations.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Press Release
Molecular Fossils Shed Light On Ancient Earth Life
Paleontologists are getting a glimpse at life over a billion years in the past based on chemical traces in ancient rocks and the genetics of living animals. Research published Dec. […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release, Space Life Science
The Evolution Of Photosynthesis Documented By Thylakoids In Fossil Cyanobacteria
Researchers at the University of Liège (ULiège) have identified microstructures in fossil cells that are 1.75 billion years old.
![Images of microfossil specimens of Navifusa majensis. (Demoulin et al., Nature, 2024) [L] one of the microfossils with stacks of thylakoids highlighted using yellow bars [R] magnification of the end of the cell.](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/FossilCellsProvide.png?resize=1200%2C838&ssl=1)
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Status Report
Fossil Cells Provide Evidence Of Early Oxygenic Photosynthesis On Earth
Today oxygenic photosynthesis is unique to cyanobacteria and their plastid relatives within eukaryotes. Although its origin before the Great Oxidation Event is still debated 1,2,3,4, the accumulation of O2 profoundly […]