International Journal of Astrobiology最新文献

{"title":"Space ectogenesis: securing survival of humans and Earth life with minimal risks – reply to Szocik","authors":"M. R. Edwards","doi":"10.1017/S147355042100015X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S147355042100015X","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Assuming that securing the long-term survival of humans and Earth life is a valid goal, we briefly compare the strategies of building standard space colonies, such as on Mars, and embryo space colonization (ESC). In ESC embryos of humans and other Earth species would be sent to exoplanets and raised there via ectogenesis and android assistants. We find that the potential for securing long-term survival is far greater for ESC than for standard colonies, while the bioethical and other risks are far fewer.","PeriodicalId":13879,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Astrobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-05-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1017/S147355042100015X","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45049195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The impact of tectonic-style on marine transgression and evolution","authors":"D. Stevenson","doi":"10.1017/S1473550421000082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550421000082","url":null,"abstract":"Plate tectonics drives variation in sea-level, over intervals of approximately107–108years. These variations may have significant effects on the pace of (biological) evolution through the elimination of terrestrial niches and the expansion of shallow-water marine niches. However, within the solar system, only the Earth experiences this kind of tectonism. Venus displays regional tectonism, characterized by rising diapirs within the plastic mantle. Impinging on the lithosphere, these plumes produce a range of structures of varying dimensions; the uplift of which would raise sea-level, were Venus to have oceans. Using Magellan observations of Venus, we model the impact of regional tectonism on sea-level for given areas of Venusian ocean, then compare the effect with terrestrial tectonic processes for similar oceanic area. We show that despite variation in the geographical extent of Venusian-style tectonic processes, the styles of regional tectonism on Venus can produce the same order of magnitude changes in sea-level, for a given area of ocean, as plate tectonics. Consequently, we examine some of the impacts of marine transgression on habitability and the evolution of life.","PeriodicalId":13879,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Astrobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1017/S1473550421000082","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48913884","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bacterial influence on the formation of hematite: implications for Martian dormant life","authors":"S. Wickramarathna, R. Chandrajith, A. Senaratne, Varun Paul, P. Dash, S. Wickramasinghe, P. Biggs","doi":"10.1017/S1473550421000124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550421000124","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Previous exploration missions have revealed Mars as a potential candidate for the existence of extraterrestrial life. If life could have existed beneath the Martian subsurface, biosignatures would have been preserved in iron-rich minerals. Prior investigations of terrestrial biosignatures and metabolic processes of geological analogues would be beneficial for identifying past metabolic processes on Mars, particularly morphological and chemical signatures indicative of past life, where biological components could potentially be denatured following continued exposure to extreme conditions. The objective of the research was to find potential implications for Martian subsurface life by characterizing morphological, mineralogical and microbial signatures of hematite deposits, both hematite rock and related soil samples, collected from Highland Complex of Sri Lanka. Rock samples examined through scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) spectroscopy. Analysis showed globular and spherical growth layers nucleated by bacteria. EDX results showed a higher iron to oxygen ratio in nuclei colonies compared to growth layers, which indicated a compositional variation due to microbial interaction. X-ray diffraction analysis of the hematite samples revealed variations in chemical composition along the vertical soil profile, with the top surface soil layer being particularly enriched with Fe2O3, suggesting internal dissolution of hematite through weathering. Furthermore, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry analyses carried out on both rock and soil samples showed a possible indication of microbially induced mineral-weathering, particularly release of trapped trace metals in the parent rock. Microbial diversity analysis using 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that the rock sample was dominated by Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria, specifically, members of iron-metabolizing bacterial genera, including Mycobacterium, Arthrobacter, Amycolatopsis, Nocardia and Pedomicrobium. These results suggest that morphological and biogeochemical clues derived from studying the role of bacterial activity in hematite weathering and precipitation processes can be implemented as potential comparative tools to interpret similar processes that could have occurred on early Mars.","PeriodicalId":13879,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Astrobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-04-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1017/S1473550421000124","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48343338","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On the border between Science and Science Fiction","authors":"J. Gale, A. Wandel","doi":"10.1017/S1473550421000112","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550421000112","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":13879,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Astrobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1017/S1473550421000112","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47533497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Analysis of microbial lipids deposited on Mars Global Simulant (MGS-1) by geomatrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry","authors":"Alef dos Santos, E. Rodrigues-Filho, M. Homem","doi":"10.1017/S1473550421000100","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550421000100","url":null,"abstract":"Lipids are among the organic substances that can work as biosignatures, indicating life in an environment. We present an experimental investigation concerning analysis of lipids from a microbial source deposited on the Mars Global Simulant (MGS-1) regolith by geomatrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry (GALDI-MS). Our results indicate that lipids from intact microbial cells of a black yeast strain can be detected in these mimetic samples of Martian soil. These lipid molecules are predominantly associated with the occurrence of adducts in the GALDI-MS spectra. The results can be helpful in the planning of future planetary missions.","PeriodicalId":13879,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Astrobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1017/S1473550421000100","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47515108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"How the space environment influences organisms: an astrobiological perspective and review","authors":"Binod Prasad, Peter H. Richter, Nithya Vadakedath, Ferdinand W. M. Haag, S. M. Strauch, R. Mancinelli, Achim Schwarzwälder, Emmanuel Etcheparre, Nicolas Gaume, M. Lebert","doi":"10.1017/S1473550421000057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550421000057","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The unique environment of space is characterized by several stress factors, including intense radiation, microgravity, high vacuum and extreme temperatures, among others. These stress conditions individually or in-combination influence genetics and gene regulation and bring potential evolutionary changes in organisms that would not occur under the Earth's gravity regime (1 × g). Thus, space can be explored to support the emergence of new varieties of microbes and plants, that when selected for, can exhibit increased growth and yield, improved resistance to pathogens, enhanced tolerance to drought, low nutrient and disease, produce new metabolites and others. These properties may be more difficult to achieve using other approaches under 1 × g. This review provides an overview of the space microgravity and ionizing radiation conditions that significantly influence organisms. Changes in the genomics, physiology, phenotype, growth and metabolites of organisms in real and simulated microgravity and radiation conditions are illustrated. Results of space biological experiments show that the space environment has significant scientific, technological and commercial potential. Combined these potentials can help address the future of life on Earth, part of goal e of astrobiology.","PeriodicalId":13879,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Astrobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1017/S1473550421000057","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44257531","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interaction between adenine and Cu2+ and Fe3+-montmorillonites: a prebiotic chemistry experiment","authors":"R. C. Pereira, B. S. Teixeira, A. C. D. da Costa, D. Zaia","doi":"10.1017/S1473550421000070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550421000070","url":null,"abstract":"The modification of minerals with metals can promote changes in their surface and, consequently, in their physicochemical properties. Minerals could have played an important role in the origin of life as they can protect molecules against degradation by radiation and hydrolysis, pre-concentrate molecules from dilute solutions and catalyse the formation of polymers. Thus, the current work studied the modification of montmorillonite with Cu2+ and Fe3+ ions. These modified montmorillonites were used to study the interaction with adenine dissolved in distilled water and artificial seawater 4.0 Gy (Gy = billion years ago). The most important result of this work is that the adsorption of adenine onto modified montmorillonites is a complex interaction among adenine, salts in seawater and Cu2+/Fe3+-montmorillonite (Cu2+/Fe3+-Mont) . The adsorption of Cu2+ and Fe3+ onto montmorillonite decreased its surface area and pore volume. The Sips isotherm model showed the best fit of the data and n values indicate that the adenine adsorption process was homogeneous. The highest adenine adsorption was obtained in artificial seawater 4.0 Gy onto Fe3+-Mont at 60°C and the lowest in distilled water or artificial seawater 4.0 Gy onto montmorillonite [montmorillonite washed with distilled water (Mont-STD)] at 60°C. Adenine adsorption onto Mont-STD/montmorillonite modified with 500 ml of 0.1 mol l−1 of CuCl2 and Fe3+-Mont was an exothermic process and an endothermic process, respectively. For all adsorptions ΔG was negative. The adsorption of adenine onto Fe3+-Mont was ruled out by entropy and the other samples by enthalpy and entropy, being a major contribution for Gibbs free energy from enthalpy. The Fourier transform-infrared data indicate that the interaction of adenine with minerals may occur through the NH2 functional group.","PeriodicalId":13879,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Astrobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1017/S1473550421000070","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44323923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ectogenesis for survival in deep space and deep time: reply to Gale and Wandel","authors":"M. R. Edwards","doi":"10.1017/S1473550421000094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550421000094","url":null,"abstract":"Gale and Wandel (2021) describe my paper in IJA (Edwards, 2021) as having crossed the border of scientific plausibility into the realm of ‘science fiction.’ By science fiction, they presumably mean the ‘bad’ kind based on implausible or unsupported scientific concepts, such as time reversal, multiverses and indeed the warp drives of Star Trek they mention. As my paper is based only on current medical and scientific research, it does not make the transgression they imply. In it, I first reviewed artificial uterus systems and embryo cryopreservation as to whether they could potentially be used in space colonization or in recolonizing Earth after mass extinction events. While complete ectogenesis – the development of early-stage embryos to birth entirely outside the natural womb – is not yet available to serve this purpose, in the near future it likely will be (Bulletti et al., 2011; Räsänen and Smajdor, 2020). To illustrate the power and flexibility of the approach, I then discussed how such systems might be deployed in a comprehensive survival plan to handle a variety of extinction events, ranging from brief events in the very near future to the final, total extinction due to solar expansion (Ward and Brownlee, 2003; Klee, 2017). Gale and Wandel direct their criticisms primarily at these example survival missions, not the feasibility of ectogenesis with cryopreserved embryos per se. On one hand, they argue that near-term extinction events could be better handled by establishing colonies on Mars, on Jupiter’s moons or in O’Neill-type space colonies. Such colonies have dim prospects indeed. Recently it was shown, for example, that insufficient CO2 exists in known reservoirs on Mars to enable terraforming (Jakosky and Edwards, 2018), a sine qua non for Martian colonies. Jupiter’s moon Europa has indeed been proposed as a possible candidate for a space colony (e.g., the Artemis Project), but the extremely harsh radiation environment due to Jupiter’s magnetic storms and the ultra-frigid surface conditions there render such a colony as pure fantasy. Gerard O’Neill’s space colonies – city-sized structures holding up to a million people – rely on such notions as harvesting raw materials for manufacturing from the Moon or asteroids and constructing a totally self-supporting internal ecosystem. Such achievements again go far beyond what is technically feasible in the foreseeable future. Moreover, if by some miracle such colonies were in fact built, it would be Earth which would have to continually sustain them, rather than they protecting us from possible extinction. After a major extinction event, the vital connection with Earth for everything from medicines to spare parts would be lost and the colony would quickly collapse. In the model scheme I proposed, however, smaller spacecraft or space stations orbiting the Earth and carrying just a small number of astronauts/colonists would be one of the first lines of defence in short-duration events. These missio","PeriodicalId":13879,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Astrobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-03-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1017/S1473550421000094","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44848606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Acid and aluminium-tolerant microbes isolated from China space station assembly cleanroom surfaces and identified by 16S rRNA/ITS sequencing and MALDI-TOF MS","authors":"N. Rcheulishvili, Dimitri Papukashvili, Y. Shakir, Yulin Deng, Ying Zhang","doi":"10.1017/S1473550420000427","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550420000427","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Corrosion of aluminium (Al) is a potential problem for spacecraft as this metal is used for various mechanical parts due to its strength, durability, etc. However, it can be corroded by certain factors including microbes. Studying microbes which can be implicated in microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) due to their extremophilic nature is of vital importance. In this current study, Al and acid-tolerant microbes were isolated from the samples of China space station assembly cleanroom surfaces; acidic environments can accelerate the corrosion process on metal surfaces. Nine bacterial and 10 fungal strains were identified with 16S ribosomal RNA gene/internal transcribed spacer region sequencing and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The dominant bacteria were of Bacillus, fungi of Penicillium and Aspergillus genera. Knowing the microbes which may be conveyed from the cleanrooms to the space stations with a potential capacity of Al degradation is important for long-term maintenance of station components. This study might aid in designing further researches of the aforementioned microorganisms and, therefore, contribute to the prevention of MIC.","PeriodicalId":13879,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Astrobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1017/S1473550420000427","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41715180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Prebiotic studies on the interaction of zirconia nanoparticles and ribose nucleotides and their role in chemical evolution","authors":"A. K. Arora, Pankaj Kumar","doi":"10.1017/S1473550421000033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1473550421000033","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Studies on the interaction of biomolecules with inorganic compounds, mainly mineral surfaces, are of great concern in identifying their role in chemical evolution and origins of life. Metal oxides are the major constituents of earth and earth-like planets. Hence, studies on the interaction of biomolecules with these minerals are the point of concern for the study of the emergence of life on different planets. Zirconium oxide is one of the metal oxides present in earth's crust as it is a part of several types of rocks found in sandy areas such as beaches and riverbeds, e.g. pebbles of baddeleyite. Different metal oxides have been studied for their role in chemical evolution but no studies have been reported about the role of zirconium oxide in chemical evolution and origins of life. Therefore, studies were carried out on the interaction of ribonucleic acid constituents, 5′-CMP (cytidine monophosphate), 5′-UMP (uridine monophosphate), 5′-GMP (guanosine monophosphate) and 5′-AMP (adenosine monophosphate), with zirconium oxide. Synthesized zirconium oxide particles were characterized by using vibrating sample magnetometer, X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy. Zirconia particles were in the nanometre range, from 14 to 27 nm. The interaction of zirconium oxide with ribonucleic acid constituents was performed in the concentration range of 5 × 10−5–300 × 10−5 M. Interaction studies were carried out in three mediums; acidic (pH 4.0), neutral (pH 7.0) and basic (pH 9.0). At neutral pH, maximum interaction was observed. The interaction of zirconium oxide with 5′-UMP was 49.45% and with 5′-CMP 67.98%, while with others it was in between. Interaction studies were Langmurian in nature. Xm and KL values were calculated. Infrared spectral studies of ribonucleotides, metal oxide and ribonucleotide–metal oxide adducts were carried out to find out the interactive sites. It was observed that the nitrogen base and phosphate moiety of ribonucleotides interact with the positive charge surface of metal oxide. SEM was also carried out to study the adsorption. The results of the present study favour the important role of zirconium oxide in concentrating the organic molecules from their dilute aqueous solutions in primeval seas.","PeriodicalId":13879,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Astrobiology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2021-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1017/S1473550421000033","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43953102","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}