Tag Archives: microbial life

Micrometeorites: Key nutrient source for Mars life?

Posted on June 28, 2019 by rburnham

[Editor’s note: From a paper by Andrew Tomkins and six co-authors recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.] High survivability of micrometeorites on Mars: Sites with enhanced availability of limiting nutrients • Micrometeorites are predicted to be far more … Continue reading →

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Hunting for biosignatures in volcanic rocks

Posted on May 20, 2019 by rburnham

[Editor’s note: From a paper by Magnus Ivarsson, Therese Sallstedt, and Diana-Thean Carlsson recently published in Frontiers in Earth Science.] Morphological Biosignatures in Volcanic Rocks – Applications for Life Detection on Mars The exploration of Mars is largely based on comparisons with … Continue reading →

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Could detoxing Mars soil lead to new medicines?

Posted on April 8, 2019 by rburnham

Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is one of humankind’s major long-term health challenges. Now research into helping humans live on Mars could help address this looming problem. Dennis Claessen, associate professor at the Institute of Biology in Leiden University, the Netherlands … Continue reading →

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Can organisms survive on Mars, and can we identify them?

Posted on March 26, 2019 by rburnham

Earth is a very special planet. It is the only celestial body in the Solar System on which we know life exists. Could there be life on other planets or moons? Mars is always the first to be mentioned in … Continue reading →

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How should astronauts search for life on Mars?

Posted on March 8, 2019 by rburnham

An international team of researchers, which includes scientists from McMaster’s School of Geography & Earth Sciences, NASA, and others, is tackling one of the biggest problems of space travel to Mars: what happens when we get there? A series of … Continue reading →

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Field test: Robotic rover collects subsurface samples with patchy, specialized microbial life

Posted on February 28, 2019 by rburnham

[Editor’s note: From a paper by Kimberley Warren-Rhodes and eight co-authors recently published in Frontiers in Microbiology.] Subsurface Microbial Habitats in an Extreme Desert Mars-Analog Environment Sediments in the hyper-arid core of the Atacama Desert are a terrestrial analog to … Continue reading →

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Rain brings death in Mars-like Atacama desert

Posted on November 14, 2018 by rburnham

When rains fell on the arid Atacama Desert, it was reasonable to expect floral blooms to follow. Instead, the water brought death. An international team of planetary astrobiologists has found that after encountering never-before-seen rainfall three years ago at the … Continue reading →

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Early Mars: Right ingredients for subsurface life

Posted on September 26, 2018 by rburnham

A new study shows that the breakdown of water molecules trapped in ancient Martian rocks likely produced enough chemical energy to sustain microorganisms for hundreds of millions of years beneath the Red Planet’s surface. (…) “We showed, based on basic … Continue reading →

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Organic matter in acidic terrestrial stream suggests where to look for life on Mars

Posted on May 16, 2018 by rburnham

By studying streams on the UK coast, experts have calculated how much organic matter we might find on Mars, and where to look. Dorset is home to highly acidic sulphur streams that host bacteria that thrive in extreme conditions. One … Continue reading →

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Finding martian fossils: A field guide

Posted on May 3, 2018 by rburnham

This paper [A Field Guide to Finding Fossils on Mars, by S. McMahon, T. Bosak, J. P. Grotzinger, R. E. Milliken, R. E. Summons, M. Daye, S. A. Newman, A. Fraeman, K. H. Williford, D. E. G. Briggs, Journal of Geophysical … Continue reading →

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