[Astrobiology (Journal) via PubMed] Humanity’s self-awareness drives the quest to understand the origins of life. Although Earth history has erased much of our planet’s early biological evidence, Mars preserves ancient […]
Sample Return
Posted inSample Return
An Interdisciplinary Approach To Sampling Hard Rock Cores Of The Oceanic Crust For Microbiological And Biogeochemical Research
[Scientific Drilling] Studying life in the deep, rocky subseafloor involves many layers of technological and methodological challenges, and each drilling project or expedition must make a series of choices to […]
Posted inMicrobiology & Virology
Assessing the Preservation of Polysaccharides from a Sea-Ice Bacterium Through Analog Icy Moon Plume Ejection
[Astrobiology (Journal)] Detection of complex organics emitted from Saturn’s moon Enceladus has intensified the search for biosignatures accessible to future missions.
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
Global Genome Atlas Reveals Hidden Life In Lakes
[University of Zurich] A single drop of lake water teems with life too small to see: microscopic algae and tiny single-celled organisms such as amoebae. Like our own cells, theirs […]
Posted inAstrogeology
A JWST Study Oof Stardust. II. Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Comet 81P/Wild 2 And Implications For Primitive Solar System Carbon
[astro-ph.EP] We report observations of comet 81P/Wild 2, target of the Stardust sample return mission, on UT 2023 March 20 and 24 at a heliocentric distance (rH) of 1.85 au […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology
Activity And Diversity Of Sulfate- and Methane-based Pathways Of Anaerobic Chitin And N-acetylglucosamine Degradation In Marine Sediments
[American Society of Microbiology] Sulfate reduction is estimated to account for half of the organic carbon respiration in anoxic, organic-rich ocean sediments. Sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRMs) typically oxidize simple carbon compounds, […]
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
NASA Planetary Protection Handbook
[NASA] This handbook provides guidance to mission providers and Planetary Protection (PP) practitioners on implementing PP measures for both robotic and crewed space missions. This handbook represents major updates to […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports
NASA Scientists Search For Clues About Mars’ Past In Scotland
[NASA] This summer, NASA scientists headed to the Scottish Highlands to follow up on last year’s announcement of potential biosignatures on Mars and prepare for future research.
Posted inMicrobiology & Virology
Near-infrared Confocal Imaging Reveals The Spatial Organisation Of Far-red Photosynthesis In Shark Bay Microbial Mats And Halomicronema sp,
[Journal of Microscopy] Far-red light (FRL) cyanobacteria occupy spectrally filtered habitats where visible wavelengths are depleted but far-red radiation persists.
Posted inPlanetary Protection & Biosafety
COSPAR Panel On Planetary Protection Endorses Proposed Update To The Mars Planetary Protection Policy
Source: LinkedIn [COSPAR]. Yesterday, 29 September, the COSPAR Panel on Planetary Protection (PPP) at its Executive meeting endorsed a proposed update to the Mars planetary protection policy, following a year-long […]