University of Helsinki Archives - Astrobiology

Different celestial objects and acceleration Credit Jani Närhi

Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Press Release, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics

New Model Defines An Upper Limit To Planetary Radiation Belt Intensity

by Keith CowingMarch 11, 2026March 11, 2026

We all know that stars radiate light and much more. But radiation belts can also surround many other celestial bodies, such as planets.

Accurate magnification of microbes on the surface of the rock material.Under the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program infrastructure, the Outokumpu project has also investigated the binding of bacteria and fungi collected from the deep borehole to rock surfaces. An electron microscope image of oblong microbial cells originating in the Outokumpu bedrock on the surface of serpentinite. -- Credit Mari Raulio, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Press Release

Wide Variety Of Organic Compounds Found Deep Within The Outokumpu Borehole

by Keith CowingFebruary 12, 2025September 18, 2025

Volatile organic compounds (VOC), were usually associated with poor indoor air, were discovered in Finland in a borehole more than two kilometres deep. Previously, groundwater dating back tens of millions […]

A large active region erupts with a mid-level flare, an M6.6-class, in this image from NASA's SDO on the night of Oct. 27, 2014. The region will soon rotate over the right horizon of the sun and will no longer be facing Earth. Cropped. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extinction events, Press Release, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics

Earth Life Records Its Local Star’s Space Weather: Carrington Event

by Keith CowingApril 4, 2024April 4, 2024

A research group coordinated by the University of Helsinki was able to measure a spike in radiocarbon concentration of trees in Lapland that occurred after the Carrington flare. This discovery […]

A central insight was to model the gene history using information from related species. The modelling demonstrated that the palindromes of microRNA genes are generated by single mutation events. CREDIT Ari Löytynoja

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

New Genes Can Arise From Nothing

by Keith CowingDecember 8, 2023December 8, 2023

The complexity of living organisms is encoded within their genes, but where do these genes come from? Researchers at the University of Helsinki resolved outstanding questions around the origin of […]