Hydrothermally-active submarine volcanoes account for much of Earth's volcanism and are mineral-rich biological hotspots, yet very little is known about the dynamics of microbial diversity in these systems. This week in PNAS, ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 30, 2020
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303
The Earth's biosphere contains all the known ingredients necessary for life as we know it. Broadly speaking these are: liquid water, at least one source of energy, and an inventory of biologically useful elements and molecules.
Space Exploration
Sep 18, 2020
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379
Volcanoes are born and die—and then grow again on their own remains. The decay of a volcano in particular is often accompanied by catastrophic consequences, as was the most recent case for Anak Krakatau in 2018. The flank ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 10, 2020
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169
New research led by the American Museum of Natural History and funded by NASA identifies a process that might have been key in producing the first organic molecules on Earth about 4 billion years ago, before the origin of ...
Biochemistry
Sep 9, 2020
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75
Volcanic eruptions in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest over the last 2.6 million years are more numerous and closely connected to subsurface signatures of currently active magma than commonly thought, according ...
Earth Sciences
Aug 14, 2020
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784
Prey can evade predators and also avoid attacks. However, some can escape from inside a predator after being swallowed. For example, some animals that can survive predators' digestive systems are excreted in feces and thereby ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 3, 2020
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688
Despite an extreme environment characterized by high pressure, high temperature, strong acidity and low oxygen levels resembling living conditions in prehistoric times, hydrothermal vents harbor a diverse population of creatures, ...
Biotechnology
Apr 29, 2020
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433
Where did life first form on Earth? Some scientists think it could have been around hydrothermal vents that may have existed at the bottom of the ocean 4.5 billion years ago. In a new paper in the journal Astrobiology, scientists ...
Astrobiology
Apr 16, 2020
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94
Deep sea alkaline hydrothermal vents have been theorized to be a place where life could have originated. The elevated temperature, alkaline pH, and unique vent action concentrate minerals and create local energetic gradients ...
University of Otago scientists are leading research into the possibility that the shallow submarine vents off New Zealand's volcanic Whakaari/White Island could provide a natural laboratory to study the impacts of future ...
Environment
Feb 5, 2020
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5
