Scientists don’t call it the “Great Dying” for nothing. About 252 million years ago, upward of 80% of all marine species vanished during the end-Permian mass extinction – the most […]
Paleontology
Posted inFossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology, Press Release
Hornwort Genomes Provide Clues On How Plants Moved From Water To Land On Earth
Over 450 million years ago, plants began the epic transition from water to dry land. Among the first pioneers were the ancestors of humble hornworts, a group of small, unassuming […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Machine Learning Used To Classify Fossils Of Extinct Pollen – Offworld Astrobiology Applications?
Editor’s note: when we begin to study inhabited worlds we are going to have to take a stab at something that has taken centuries on Earth: systematic classification of life […]
Posted inArctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Sample Return
The First Amber Found In Antarctica
Roughly 90 million years ago, climatic conditions in Antarctica were suitable for resin-producing trees. A team of researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute and the TU Bergakademie Freiberg have […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Fossils & Paleontology, Origin & Evolution of Life
One Of Earth’s Earliest Animals Discovered In The Australian Outback
By McKenzie Harris: In the shadow of South Australia’s largest mountain range beneath the outback soil lies a fossil record that reveals a rich history of life on Earth. Fossils […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Impact events, Press Release
Australian Crater Could Offer Fresh Insight Into Earth’s Geological History
VCU’s Arif Sikder of the Center for Environmental Studies is part of the research team that is going back in time – by hundreds of millions of years.
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release
Biosignatures: Fungus Gnat Entombed In A 40-million-year-old Piece Of Amber
A Danish amber collector’s find upon a wild North Sea shore in the 1960’s has proved to be of great and surprising significance. After having thoroughly examining the roughly 40-million-year-old […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Oceans And Continents Devastated Marine Life Millions Of Years Ago
Scientists have revealed how a “tag-team” between the oceans and continents millions of years ago devastated marine life – and altered the course of evolution on Earth. Their study has […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Tardigrades
Trying To Understand The Tardigrade Body Plan
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 […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Cretaceous Amber Inclusions Illuminate The Evolutionary Origin Of Tardigrades
Tardigrades are a diverse phylum of microscopic invertebrates widely known for their extreme survival capabilities. Molecular clocks suggest that tardigrades diverged from other panarthropods before the Cambrian, but their fossil […]