Science Direct Archives

Guaymas Basin Hydrothermal hot spot with white sulfur-oxidizing mats at Marker 14 where sediment cores 4570-LC1 and LC2 were collected, the sources for thermophilic ANME-1 enrichments (Holler et al., 2011) and for Ca. Syntrophoarchaeum (Laso-Pérez et al., 2016). -- Science Direct

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The Guaymas Basin – A Hot Spot For Hydrothermal Generation And Anaerobic Microbial Degradation Of Hydrocarbons

by Keith CowingJuly 18, 2024July 7, 2024

Guaymas Basin is a young marginal rift basin in the Gulf of California characterized by active seafloor spreading, rapid deposition of organic-rich sediments, and steep geothermal gradients where sedimentary organic […]

Sample LLB0 (Feb 2017). Iberulite with potential biological features on its surface. a) Iberulite of 110 μm diameter and pseudo-spherical morphology. The surface appearance is compacted by an external rind where fine clay particles are predominant. The vortex (marked with V) can be observed. -- Science Direct

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report

Microbial Composition Of Saharan Dust Plumes Deposited As Red Rain In Granada, Southern Spain

by Keith CowingJuly 18, 2024July 7, 2024

During dust storms, also biological material is transported from arid areas such as the Sahara Desert. In the present work, rain samples containing significant amounts of mineral dust have been […]

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Cryobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Gravitational Biology, Life Support Systems, Mars, Plant Biology, Radiation, Space Agriculture, Status Report, Terraforming & Geoengineering

The Extremotolerant Desert Moss Syntrichia caninervis Is A Promising Pioneer Plant For Colonizing Extraterrestrial Environments

by Keith CowingJuly 2, 2024August 23, 2025

Many plans to establish human settlements on other planets focus on adapting crops to growth in controlled environments. However, these settlements will also require pioneer plants that can grow in […]

Away Teams & Field Reports, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Policy, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Status Report, Titan, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

The COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy for Missions to Icy Worlds: A Review of History, Current Scientific Knowledge, And Future Directions

by Keith CowingJune 26, 2024June 26, 2024

Recent discoveries related to the habitability and astrobiological relevance of the outer Solar System have expanded our understanding of where and how life may have originated. As a result, the […]

Planetary Protection Procedures Prior To Launch -- ESA

Microbiology & Virology, Missions & Hardware, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Policy, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Status Report

Planetary Protection: Updates And Challenges For A Sustainable Space Exploration

by Keith CowingJune 3, 2024June 26, 2024

Planetary protection enables scientific return from solar system bodies investigations and at the same time protects life on Earth.

Normalized bands areas of parietin (FT-IR reflectance) during UV irradiation under N2 flux showed as color gradient, where dark yellow is band's area before irradiation (100 %), orange is 50 % of beginning band's area, red is 0 % of beginning band's area and yellow is 150 % of beginning band's area. Numeric values are referred to Tab. S1. -- Science Direct

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Plant Biology, Radiation, Status Report

UV Photo-degradation of the Secondary Lichen Substance Parietin: A Multi-spectroscopic Analysis in Astrobiology Perspective

by Keith CowingMay 27, 2024May 27, 2024

The cortical anthraquinone yellow-orange pigment parietin is a secondary lichen substance providing UV-shielding properties that is produced by several lichen species. In our work, the secondary metabolite has been extracted […]

A global composite assembled from data acquired in 2016 by the NOAA-NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite. This nighttime view of far northern Europe was made possible by the “day-night band” of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite. VIIRS was built to be sensitive enough to measure nighttime light emissions and reflections, to distinguish the intensity of lights, and to observe how they change.-- NASA

Astronomy & Telescopes, Intelligence & Language, SETI & Technosignatures, Status Report

Is There A Universal Limit To Technological Development? Evidences From Astrobiology

by Keith CowingMay 27, 2024May 27, 2024

Considering the vastness of time and space, if one civilization — ours — has been able to advance technologically to the point of leaving its own planet, why technosignatures from […]

This look back at a dune that NASA's Curiosity Mars rover drove across was taken by the rover's Mast Camera (Mastcam) during the 538th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars (Feb. 9, 2014). The rover had driven over the dune three days earlier. For scale, the distance between the parallel wheel tracks is about 9 feet (2.7 meters). The dune is about 3 feet (1 meter) tall in the middle of its span across an opening called "Dingo Gap." This view is looking eastward. Larger image

Mars, Missions & Hardware, Moon, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Societal Issues, Status Report

Exogeoconservation: Protecting Geological Heritage On Celestial Bodies

by Keith CowingMay 8, 2024May 8, 2024

Geoconservation is an increasingly widely adopted theoretical, practical and administrative approach to the protection of geological and geomorphological features of special scientific, functional, historic, cultural, aesthetic, or ecological value.

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Life, Its Definition, Origin, Evolution, and Four-dimensional Hierarchical Structure, Biosystems

by Keith CowingFebruary 29, 2024September 18, 2025

The main unique features of biological systems are reviewed, and four necessary and sufficient attributes of life are formulated, based on the ideas of Ervin Bauer.

Microbial composition and genetic characteristics of four saline lakes. a, Alpha indices of predicted genes from lakewater and sedimentary communities in different lakes. Red: ADH (Aiding Lake), blue: BLK (Barkol Lake), green: DBC (Dabancheng Lake), purple: QJJ (Qijiaojing Lake). Asterisks indicate statistical significance (P < 0.05). NS: No statistical significance (P > 0.05). b, Distance-based Redundancy Analysis (dbRDA) of predicted genes from lakewater and sedimentary communities in different lakes. TOC: Total Organic Carbon, Li+: lithium, Na+: sodium, NH4+: ammonium, K+: potassium, Mg2+: magnesium, Ca2+: calcium, Cl−: chloridion, SO42−: sulphate. c, Relative abundance of genes involved in key pathways, including carbon fixation, fatty acid metabolism, methane metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, photosynthesis, and sulfur metabolism. d, Z-score normalised relative abundance of modules in carbon fixation, methane, nitrogen, and sulfur metabolism. CREDIT Environmental Science and Ecotechnology / Science Direct

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Microbial Wonders In Earth’s Saltiest Waters

by Keith CowingFebruary 2, 2024February 2, 2024

The study delves into hypersaline lakes in Xinjiang, China, exploring the genetic and metabolic diversity of microbial communities termed “microbial dark matters”.

Science Direct

The Guaymas Basin – A Hot Spot For Hydrothermal Generation And Anaerobic Microbial Degradation Of Hydrocarbons

Microbial Composition Of Saharan Dust Plumes Deposited As Red Rain In Granada, Southern Spain

The Extremotolerant Desert Moss Syntrichia caninervis Is A Promising Pioneer Plant For Colonizing Extraterrestrial Environments

The COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy for Missions to Icy Worlds: A Review of History, Current Scientific Knowledge, And Future Directions

Planetary Protection: Updates And Challenges For A Sustainable Space Exploration

UV Photo-degradation of the Secondary Lichen Substance Parietin: A Multi-spectroscopic Analysis in Astrobiology Perspective

Is There A Universal Limit To Technological Development? Evidences From Astrobiology

Exogeoconservation: Protecting Geological Heritage On Celestial Bodies

Life, Its Definition, Origin, Evolution, and Four-dimensional Hierarchical Structure, Biosystems

Microbial Wonders In Earth’s Saltiest Waters

NASA Spaceline Current Awareness List #1,215 4 September 2026 (Space Life Science Research Results)

The Metallicity Of Giant Exoplanets Around Low-mass Stars And How Ariel Can Help

Two Extremely Irradiated Volatile-rich Sub-Neptunes With Companions In The TOI-426 And TOI-1839 Systems: Insights Into Arrival And Survival Near The Lower Edge Of The Neptunian Desert

Mapping the WISPIT2 Planet-Hosting Cavity at Sub-Hill-Radius scales

Contrasting C/O Ratios in Uranus and Neptune From Disequilibrium Chemistry: A Clue To Distinct Evolutionary Pathways?