[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 […]
Oceanography
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
Ocean World Genomics: Earth’s Deep Sea Is An Untapped Evolutionary Engine
[University of East Anglia Norwich] The deep-sea is a unique ‘evolutionary engine’ with one of the richest and most unexplored sources of genetic diversity on Earth, according to a major […]
![Deep-sea microbial sample processing. Detailed sample processing steps for HPG assimilating cells and total cell counts are denoted in grey and black arrows/squares, respectively. Processing steps and samples used for metagenomic sequencing are denoted in light-blue arrows and squares. “Whole sample” correspond to triplicate 50 ml aliquots, each filtered onto a 0.22 μm filter directly from the cryopreserved material, and then released with 200 μl of 0.025% (v/v) Tween 20 in PBS to be processed through MDA and DNA sequencing; “all cells” correspond to samples of cryopreserved material that were stained with a DNA dye, collected on a 0.22 μm filter, processed through the BONCAT labelling assay, and then sorted by flow cytometry, aiming to select events that presented the DNA dye; “BONCAT+” cell samples originated from the same material as ‘all cells’, but their sorting aimed for events that presented both the DNA dye and the fluorescent dye Alexa-Fluor 488 (attached to the HPG incorporated by the active cells). The selection of BONCAT+ cells was established for each sample based on the level of BONCAT background labelling to the microbial community when not exposed to HPG, or when fixed before being exposed to HPG (i.e. reflecting the adhesion of the fluorescent label to cells that did not incorporate HPG). -- [ISME Journal via PubMed]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Sample-Return.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inSample Return
Sample Return: Minimizing Decompression And Warming During Deep Seawater Collection Increases Abundance And Activity Of Autochthonous Bacteria And Archaea
[ISME Journal via PubMed] The deep ocean hosts autochthonous pressure-adapted microorganisms that are unique to this environment, as well as allochthonous pressure-sensitive members transported from shallow depths by vertical advection […]
Posted inExtinction events
Researchers Confirm The Cause Of Earth’s Biggest Mass Extinction
[Stanford University] A new Stanford-led study offers the clearest picture yet of how some ocean life survived our planet’s biggest mass extinction while most animals did not.
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology
Orbital Biosignature Assay: Phytoplankton Blooms In The Black Sea
[NASA] The turquoise color is likely caused by coccolithophores, a type of phytoplankton covered with calcium carbonate plates that can give surface waters a milky-blue appearance. These types of phytoplankton […]
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
How Will We Monitor Life In Alien Oceans?
Editor’s note: when we start to explore the oceans on other worlds we will need to be ready to utilize a wide range of detection methods optical, auditory – and […]
Posted inWater/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ocean Planet Exploration: New University of Rhode Island Ocean Robotics Laboratory
[URI] The University of Rhode Island celebrated a major milestone in the $300 million, multi-phase revitalization of the Narragansett Bay Campus with a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Ocean […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Analog Studies, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Water Planet Recon: New AI Approach Reveals Earth’s Ocean Currents In Unprecedented Detail
Editor’s note: when our first missions – human or robotic – arrive at a new world we’ll want to do glean as much information from space – via fly by […]
Posted inNews Summary Archives, Status Report
Hot life in Antarctica: A Novel Metabolically Versatile Pyrodictiaceae Genus Thriving At A Volcanic–cryosphere–marine Interface
Deception Island fumaroles in Antarctica represent rare environments where extreme heat intersects with cryospheric and marine conditions, creating remarkable environmental gradients.
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Intelligence & Language, Press Release, SETI & Technosignatures, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
CETI, SETI, And Seismology Synergies: AI Model Hears Whale Calls In Seismic Data
Researchers repurposed an AI model designed for visual identification tasks to detect Bryde’s whale calls contained with seismic data collected in the South China Sea.