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Article
Ethical considerations for analogue fieldwork in extreme environments
Recent movements towards decolonizing the university and promoting racial justice and equality in social relations have highlighted and challenged the colonial influences on contemporary science and scientific...
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Chapter
Earliest Traces of Life as a Window on Life’s Origins
Life is the outcome of a complex network of chemical reactions and molecular interactions that emerged on Earth once primitive chemical automata could self-assemble in such a way that enabled them to self-repr...
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Article
Tectonic link between the Neoproterozoic dextral shear fabrics and Cenozoic extension structures of the Mekelle basin, Northern Ethiopia
The Mekelle basin (area ~ 5500 km2) is located at the immediate western margin of the Afar Depression, which has a history of collision, subsidence, uplift, magmatism and now rifting. The evolution of such small ...
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Article
Multidisciplinary characterization of melanin pigments from the black fungus Cryomyces antarcticus
Melanin is a natural pigment present in almost all biological groups, and is composed of indolic polymers and characterized by black-brown colorization. Furthermore, it is one of the pigments produced by extre...
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Article
Open AccessMetallomics in deep time and the influence of ocean chemistry on the metabolic landscapes of Earth’s earliest ecosystems
Modern biological dependency on trace elements is proposed to be a consequence of their enrichment in the habitats of early life together with Earth’s evolving physicochemical conditions; the resulting metalli...
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Article
Open AccessAuthor Correction: Ultra-small microorganisms in the polyextreme conditions of the Dallol volcano, Northern Afar, Ethiopia
An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
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Article
Microbial Diversity and Biosignatures: An Icy Moons Perspective
The icy moons of the outer Solar System harbor potentially habitable environments for life, however, compared to the terrestrial biosphere, these environments are characterized by extremes in temperature, pres...
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Article
Open AccessUltra-small microorganisms in the polyextreme conditions of the Dallol volcano, Northern Afar, Ethiopia
The Dallol geothermal area in the northern part of the Danakil Depression (up to 124–155 meter below sea level) is deemed one of the most extreme environments on Earth. The area is notable for being part of th...
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Article
Open AccessModern Iron Ooids of Hydrothermal Origin as a Proxy for Ancient Deposits
We constrained the origin and genetic environment of modern iron ooids (sand-sized grains with a core and external cortex of concentric laminae) providing new tools for the interpretation of their fossil count...
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Chapter
Biosignatures in Deep Time
Life on the early Earth inhabited a planet whose environment was vastly different from the Earth of today. An anaerobic and hot early Earth was the birthplace of the first living cells but wide-spread small-sc...
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Chapter
Searching for Signs of Life on Other Planets: Mars a Case Study
Demonstrating the existence of simple life forms (past or present) on a cosmic body other than Earth is exceedingly challenging: (1) A naturally sceptic scientific community expects the evidence to be convinci...
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Chapter
Astrobiology, the Emergence of Life, and Planetary Exploration
Astrobiology brings together scientific disciplines focused on deciphering the origin of life, its nature, evolution, and distribution in the universe. Exceptionally rapid progress in our understanding has bee...
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Chapter
Emergence and Evolution of Early Life in the Geological Environment
Based on our current assumptions, life on Earth started long before 3.5 billion years ago, the age of the oldest (accepted) terrestrial fossils. The issue on how life emerged from a non-living world, however, ...
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Chapter and Conference Paper
Equatorial Layered Deposits in Arabia Terra, Mars: Stratigraphy and Process Variability
The equatorial layered deposits of Arabia Terra are investigated to understand their genesis and the controls on their evolution. We interpret the deposits found within the craters as having been formed by spr...
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Chapter
Vesicular Basalts as a Niche for Microbial Life
The ongoing discovery of traces of microbial communities in locations on Earth where conditions are, or were, hostile to life suggests that unknown microbial ecosystems and habitats are yet to be detected. Vol...
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Reference Work Entry In depth
Biosignatures in Rocks
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Chapter
Fossil Microorganisms at Methane Seeps: An Astrobiological Perspective
The recent detection of methane in the martian atmosphere has stimulated a debate on its source, including speculations on a possible biological origin as in the Earth’s atmosphere, where methane is present as...
