The geophysical evolution and astrobiological potential of ocean worlds are indelibly linked to the chemical compositions of their oceans and ice shells.
Ice-nucleating proteins (INpros) catalyze ice formation at high subzero temperatures, with major biological and environmental implications.
![Values from an experimental series in large-volume press experiments (LVP), separated arbitrarily at 9 GPa into lower (LP) and higher pressures (HP) [in circles; (9)], and our experiments (in pentagons, DH16 to DH12) show different metal-silicate partitioning behaviors. As equilibration temperature and pressure increase S, Se, and Te, partition coefficients converge to similar, less siderophile values. -- Science Advances via PubMed](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Accretion-of-volatile-elements.png?resize=1200%2C716&ssl=1)
Volatile elements are essential for life development and planetary evolution. However, the timing of their delivery to terrestrial planets remains unclear. Sulfur, selenium, and tellurium are volatiles, but also siderophile […]
Large-amplitude variations are commonly observed in the atmospheres of directly imaged exoplanets and brown dwarfs. VHS 1256B, the most variable known planet-mass object, exhibits a near-infrared flux change of nearly […]
The Early Paleozoic radiation of diverse animal life is commonly connected to a well-ventilated global ocean. Yet the oxygenation history of Paleozoic deep oceans remains debated.
North Pole Dome (Pilbara Craton, Western Australia) contains unique geological analogs to early Earth and Mars.
For 540 million years, the ebb and flow in the strength of Earth’s magnetic field has correlated with fluctuations in atmospheric oxygen, according to a newly released analysis by NASA […]
The early evolution of life relied on catalytic RNAs (ribozymes) for central functions.
We investigate the hypothesis that mineral/water interfaces played a crucial catalytic role in peptide formation by promoting the self-assembly of amino acids.
![Along the Curiosity traverse [(A), gray line] through the Mirador formation, the rover observed symmetric ripple marks within the Prow outcrop near the base of Mirador butte at elevation −3950 m (B) and the Amapari Marker Band (AMB) outcrop along the west side of Marker Band Valley (MBV) at elevation −3860 m (C). Red stars indicate the locations of the ripple-containing outcrops within the stratigraphic column (D) along the MSL traverse (A). The Prow is one of the multiple lenticular outcrops within the Contigo member. The AMB outcrops are nearly continuously around MBV [(C): solid orange line], often forming flat, erosionally resistant benches (inner edge traced in dashed orange line). The basemap used in (A) to (C) is a Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter HiRISE mosaic generated by Calef et al. (61, 62) and accessed through the NASA Planetary Data System. -- Science Advances via PubMed](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Wave-Ripples-Formed-In-Ancient.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Symmetrical wave ripples identified with NASA’s Curiosity rover in ancient lake deposits at Gale crater provide a key paleoclimate constraint for early Mars: At the time of ripple formation, climate […]
