PNAS via PubMed
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Highlighting A Science Strategy For Human Exploration Of Mars

by Keith Cowing

A Science Strategy for Human Exploration of Mars, charts a bold, scientifically based blueprint for humanity’s greatest cosmic adventure—sending explorers to Mars to answer the universe’s most profound questions: Is […]

Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Single-molecule Peptide Sequencing Through Reverse Translation Of Peptides Into DNA

by Keith Cowing

Editor’s note: with recent speculation about the potential habitability of other worlds and understanding the processes whereby other biospheres arise and evolve, thought needs to be given to developing sensor […]

Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Mineral-facilitated Aqueous Synthesis Of Hydrogen Cyanide From Prebiotically Abundant Amino Acids For Chemical Evolution

by Keith Cowing

Recent advances in prebiotic chemistry suggest that hydrogen cyanide (HCN) serves as a fundamental precursor for nearly all essential biomolecules and protometabolic processes for life’s emergence.

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Sample Return, Status Report

Multiple Formation Pathways For Amino Acids In The Early Solar System Based On Carbon And Nitrogen Isotopes In Asteroid Bennu Samples

by Keith Cowing

Samples collected from the carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid Bennu and delivered to Earth by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission contain organic molecules relevant to prebiotic chemistry.

Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Noncanonical Genetic Markers Resolve The Pre-GOE Emergence Of Aerobic Bacteria In Earth’s History

by Keith Cowing

The transition from anaerobic to aerobic life was a pivotal adaptation in Earth’s history, yet the timing and genomic drivers remain poorly resolved.

Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report

Ice Gliding Diatoms Establish Record-low Temperature Limits For Motility In A Eukaryotic Cell

by Keith Cowing

In the harsh Arctic environments, ice-dwelling diatoms remarkably survive and thrive, but their behavioral adaptations are poorly understood.

Posted inAstrogeology, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Revisiting The Eoarchean Akilia Quartz-pyroxene Rock With Potassium Isotopes: Implications For Early-ocean Sedimentation

by Keith Cowing

The Eoarchean quartz-pyroxene rock from Akilia Island in Greenland has been proposed as one of Earth’s oldest banded iron formations (BIF) and a potential host for the earliest biosignatures.

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