A research team from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has detected radio recombination lines (RRLs) of ions heavier than helium for the first time, […]
oxygen
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Earth’s Inner Core May Be Oxygen-Rich
Oxygen is the key substance for life and one of the most abundant elements in the Earth.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
How Fluctuating Oxygen Levels May Have Accelerated Animal Evolution On Earth
Oxygen levels in the Earth’s atmosphere are likely to have “fluctuated wildly” one billion years ago, creating conditions that could have accelerated the development of early animal life, according to new […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Press Release
New Abiotic Pathway For The Formation Of Oxygen
Oxygen plays a crucial role for all living organisms on Earth.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release
Is Ozone A Reliable Proxy For Molecular Oxygen? I. The O2-O3 Relationship For Earth-like Atmospheres
Molecular oxygen (O2) paired with a reducing gas is regarded as a promising biosignature pair for the atmospheric characterization of terrestrial exoplanets. In circumstances when O2 may not be detectable […]
Posted inHabitable Zones, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Sleeping Giant Could End Deep Ocean Life
Red medusa found just off the bottom of the deep sea in Alaska. CREDIT Hidden Ocean 2005/NOAA A previously overlooked factor — the position of continents — helps fill Earth’s […]
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Slowdown In Earth's Rotation Could Have Affected The Oxygen Content Of Its Atmosphere
Virtually all oxygen on Earth was and is produced by photosynthesis, which was invented by tiny organisms, the cyanobacteria, when our planet was still a rather uninhabitable place.
Posted inAstronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Oxygen False Positives On Habitable Zone Planets Around Sun-Like Stars
Oxygen is a promising exoplanet biosignature due to the evolutionary advantage conferred by harnessing starlight for photosynthesis, and the apparent low likelihood of maintaining oxygen-rich atmospheres without life.
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Implications of Abiotic Oxygen Buildup for Earth-like Complex Life
One of the chief paradoxes of molecular oxygen (O2) is that it is an essential requirement for multicellular eukaryotes on Earth while simultaneously posing a threat to their survival via […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Press Release
Iron-silica Particles Unlock Part of the Mystery of Earth's Oxygenation
The oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere was thanks, in part, to iron and silica particles in ancient seawater, according to a new study by geomicrobiologists at the University of Alberta. But […]