qPCR Archives - Astrobiology

Antarctic cryptoendolithic community colonising sandstones collected in Linnaeus Terrace by Laura Selbmann during the XXXI Italian Antarctic expedition (PNRA, 2015–2016) showing the typical stratification: (a) crust, (b) black fungi layer, (c) lichenised and non-lichenised algae and (d) red accumulation zone. -- International Journal of Astrobiology, via Xmol

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Setting A Polyphasic Approach To Study Antarctic Cryptoendolithic Communities As A Toolkit For Astrobiology

by Keith CowingJanuary 30, 2026January 30, 2026

The present study has set up a pilot experiment to optimise the most promising assays for investigating the survival of Antarctic microbial cryptoendolithic communities – a natural astrobiological benchmark – […]

Sampling in a lithium concentrating pond. -- biorxiv.org

Analog Studies, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

The Limit of Life at Extremely Low Water Activity: Lithium-concentration Ponds in a Solar Saltern (Salar de Atacama, Chile)

by Keith CowingJanuary 22, 2025January 22, 2025

Extremely hyper-saline ponds from an industrial lithium-concentration process in solar salterns in the Atacama Desert were studied to determine the limits of life at very low water activity.

Circles denote the location of eDNA samples collected and preserved by the ESP onboard Surveyor during its ~4200-km transit over 29 days (June 10–July 9, 2021) from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands. Transit across oceanographic domains, from the California Current upwelling system to the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, is represented by sea surface temperature (SST) from satellite remote sensing. Shown is the June 2021 average of multiscale ultra-high resolution (MUR) SST Analysis fv04.1, acquired from https://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/erddap/index.html.

Analog Studies, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Ocean Planet Exploration Droids: Autonomous eDNA Collection Using An Uncrewed Surface Vessel

by Keith CowingNovember 30, 2024November 30, 2024

The collection of environmental DNA (eDNA) samples is often laborious, costly, and logistically difficult to accomplish at high frequency in remote locations and over large geographic areas.

The two major field sites: Eldfell, a decade-old eruption site on the island of Heimaey, and Fimmvörðuháls, a region between glaciers with access to both very recent and much older lava fields. At each major site, triplicate samples were taken at each point in a 1 m triangle; this pattern was repeated at 2–3 locations 10 m apart, and then that nested pattern was repeated 2–3 times at locations 100 m apart. -- Astrobiology via PubMed

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Correlations Between Life-Detection Techniques and Implications for Sampling Site Selection in Planetary Analog Missions

by Keith CowingDecember 20, 2023December 20, 2023

We conducted an analog sampling expedition under simulated mission constraints to areas dominated by basaltic tephra of the Eldfell and Fimmvörðuháls lava fields (Iceland).