life

Nitrogen- and oxygen-rich organic material indicative of polymerization in pre-aqueous cryochemistry on Bennu’s parent bodyOPEN ACCESS

02/12/2025 20:35 · by karmaka · in aqueous alteration, asteroid, organic matter, OSIRIS-REx / 101955 Bennu, surface

Scott A. Sandford, Zack Gainsforth, Michel Nuevo, Matthew A. Marcus, Hans A. Bechtel, Ryan C. Ogliore, Clive Jones, Gerardo Dominguez, Daniel P. Glavin, Jason P. Dworkin, Timothy J. McCoy, Sara S. Russell, Thomas J. Zega,…

Constraints on the fluid alteration of Nakhla meteorite inferred from Fe-rich phyllosilicate characterization

25/08/2025 15:29 · by karmaka · in aqueous alteration, Mars, nakhlite

Isabella Pignatelli, Enrico Mugnaioli, Yves Marrocchi, Luigi Folco MAPS, Version of Record online: 25 August 2025 LINK “The Nakhla Martian meteorite is known to contain secondary minerals, in particular phyllosilicates, that have recorded the conditions…

Core metamorphism controls the dynamic habitability of mid-sized ocean worlds—The case of CeresOPEN ACCESS

20/08/2025 23:26 · by karmaka · in Ceres, dwarf planets

Samuel W. Courville, Julie C. Castillo-Rogez, Mohit Melwani Daswani, Jordyn Robare, and Joseph G. O’Rourke Science Advances20 Aug 2025Vol 11, Issue 34 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (OPEN ACCESS) “Ceres’s surface mineralogy and density structure indicate an…

Exploring organic compound preservation through long-term in situ experiments in the Atacama desert and the relevance for MarsOPEN ACCESS

17/08/2025 09:55 · by karmaka · in Mars, organic matter

Felix Leo Arens, Jenny Uhl, Philippe Schmitt-Kopplin, Cornelia Karger, Kai Mangelsdorf, Christof Sager, Alessandro Airo, Bernardita Valenzuela, Pedro Zamorano & Dirk Schulze-Makuch Scientific Reports, Volume 15, article number 29957, Published: 15 August 2025 LINK (OPEN…

Exploring impact vapor plume reactions from asteroidal impacts: Monte Carlo simulations and implications for biomolecules synthesisOPEN ACCESS

30/07/2025 13:41 · by karmaka · in amino acids, asteroid, CI, Earth, EL, impact / impact-structures, LL, organic matter

Yoko Ochiai, Shigeru Ida , Daigo Shoji IcarusAvailable online 29 July 2025, 116736 LINK + PDF (OPEN ACCESS) “Highlights “During a hypervelocity impact, both the impactor and target materials evaporate, generating an impact vapor plume…

Meteorite-common amino acid induces clay exfoliation and abiotic compartment formationOPEN ACCESS

05/06/2025 13:28 · by karmaka · in amino acids, meteorite, planets/planetesimals

Orr Rose Bezaly, Annemieke Petrignani & Helen E. King Communications Earth & Environment, Volume 6, Article number: 435 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (OPEN ACCESS) “Clay surfaces have been invoked as crucial components in the origin of…

Effect of a giant meteorite impact on Paleoarchean surface environments and lifeOPEN ACCESS

24/10/2024 13:37 · by karmaka · in Earth, impact / impact-structures, meteor/meteoroid/bolide

Nadja Drabon, Andrew H. Knoll, Donald R. Lowe and David A. Mucciarone PNAS, October 21, 2024, 121 (44) e2408721121 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (OPEN ACCESS) “Large meteorite impacts must have strongly affected the habitability of the…

The rapid formation of macromolecules in irradiated ice of protoplanetary disk dust traps

31/07/2024 01:20 · by karmaka · in organic matter, planets/planetesimals

Niels F. W. Ligterink, Paola Pinilla, Nienke van der Marel, Jeroen Terwisscha van Scheltinga, Alice S. Booth, Conel M. O’D. Alexander & My E. I. Riebe Nature Astronomy, Published: 30 July 2024 LINK “Organic macromolecular…

The evolution of organic material on Asteroid 162173 Ryugu and its delivery to EarthOPEN ACCESS

22/07/2024 15:05 · by karmaka · in aqueous alteration, asteroid, Cb-type, Hayabusa-2 / 162173 Ryugu, organic matter

H. G. Changela, Y. Kebukawa, L. Petera, M. Ferus, E. Chatzitheodoridis, L. Nejdl, R. Nebel, V. Protiva, P. Krepelka, J. Moravcova, R. Holbova, Z. Hlavenkova, T. Samoril, J. C. Bridges, S. Yamashita, Y. Takahashi, T….

The astrochemical evolutionary traits of phospholipid membrane homochirality

19/07/2024 08:48 · by karmaka · in carbonaceous chondrite, Earth, organic matter

Jana Bocková, Nykola C. Jones, Søren V. Hoffmann & Cornelia Meinert Nature Reviews Chemistry, Review Article, Published: 18 July 2024 LINK “Compartmentalization is crucial for the evolution of life. Present-day phospholipid membranes exhibit a high…

Open questions on carbonaceous matter in meteoritesOPEN ACCESS

30/05/2024 00:13 · by karmaka · in carbonaceous chondrite, meteorite, organic matter

Oliver Christ, Fabrizio Nestola & Matteo Alvaro Communications ChemistryVolume 7, article number 118, 2024COMMENT, Open access, Published: 29 May 2024 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (OPEN ACCESS) “Extraterrestrial carbon gives insights into the origin of life and…

Life on Earth can grow on extraterrestrial organic carbonOPEN ACCESS

14/02/2024 16:29 · by karmaka · in Aguas Zarcas, carbonaceous chondrite, CM, Earth, witnessed fall

Annemiek C. Waajen, Cassio Lima, Royston Goodacre & Charles S. Cockell Scientific Reports, Volume 14, Article number: 3691 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (OPEN ACCESS) “The universe is a vast store of organic abiotic carbon that could…

Xeno Amino Acids: A look into biochemistry as we don’t know itOPEN ACCESS

28/10/2023 12:51 · by karmaka · in amino acids

Sean M. Brown, Christopher Mayer-Bacon, Stephen Freeland Preprint, to be submitted to Life LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (DOWNLOAD) “Would another origin of life resemble Earth’s biochemistry? Here, consider that question specifically in terms of amino acids,…

Prebiotic Vitamin B3 Synthesis in Carbonaceous PlanetesimalsOPEN ACCESS

18/10/2023 10:29 · by karmaka · in carbonaceous chondrite, organic matter, planets/planetesimals

Klaus Paschek, Mijin Lee, Dmitry A. Semenov, Thomas K. Henning Accepted for publication in ChemPlusChem. PDF (OPEN ACCESS)Supporting Information “Aqueous chemistry within carbonaceous planetesimals is promising for synthesizing prebiotic organic matter essential to all life….

Synthesis of prebiotic organics from CO2 by catalysis with meteoritic and volcanic particlesOPEN ACCESS

25/05/2023 22:09 · by karmaka · in iron, meteor/meteoroid/bolide, organic matter

Sophia Peters, Dmitry A. Semenov, Rupert Hochleitner & Oliver Trapp Scientific Reports, Volume 13, Article number: 6843 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (OPEN ACCESS) “The emergence of prebiotic organics was a mandatory step toward the origin of…

Elemental sulfur, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon monoxide-driven dimerization of glycine at sub-millimolar concentrations: Implications for the origin of lifeOPEN ACCESS

03/04/2023 18:14 · by karmaka · in amino acids, Earth, organic matter

Norio Kitadai, Shigeru Shimamura, Wataru Takahagi, Masayuki Miyazaki, Eiji Tasumi, Satoshi Okada Geochimica et Cosmochimica ActaAvailable online 3 April 2023 LINK (OPEN ACCESS) “The life’s origin in submarine hydrothermal systems is a long-standing scenario supported…

Evaluating the abiotic synthesis potential and the stability of building blocks of life beneath an impact-induced steam atmosphereOPEN ACCESS

03/04/2023 18:09 · by karmaka · in amino acids, Earth, organic matter

Zongbin Zhang, Haofan Jiang, Pengcheng Ju, Lu Pan, Joti Rouillard, Gentao Zhou, Fang Huang and Jihua Hao Frontiers in Microbiology, Volume 14 – 2023, 03 April 2023 LINK (OPEN ACCESS) “A prerequisite for prebioticIf applicable,…

Hydrogen Drives Part of the Reverse Krebs Cycle under Metal or Meteorite CatalysisOPEN ACCESS

22/10/2022 10:36 · by karmaka · in Earth, iron, organic matter

Sophia A. Rauscher, Joseph Moran Angewandte Chemie International EditionFirst published: 17 October 2022 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (OPEN ACCESS) “Hydrogen (H2) is a geological source of reducing electrons that is thought to have powered the metabolism…

The scale of a martian hydrothermal system explored using combined neutron and x-ray tomographyOPEN ACCESS

12/05/2022 06:58 · by karmaka · in Mars, martian, nakhlite

Josefin Martell, Carl Alwmark, Luke Daly, Stephen Hall, Sanna Alwmark, Robin Woracek, Johan Hektor, Lukas Helfen, Alessandro Tengattini and Martin Lee Science Advances • 11 May 2022 • Vol 8, Issue 19 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF…

Meteorites as Food Source on Early Earth: Growth, Selection, and Inhibition of a Microbial Community on a Carbonaceous Chondrite

19/03/2022 18:49 · by karmaka · in carbonaceous chondrite, CM, Earth

Annemiek C. Waajen, R. Prescott, and Charles S. Cockell AstrobiologyPublished Online: 18 March 2022 LINK “Meteoritic material accumulated on the surface of the anoxic early Earth during the Late Heavy Bombardment around 4.0 Gya and…

Ribose Synthesis in Carbonaceous PlanetesimalsOPEN ACCESS

10/03/2022 16:56 · by karmaka · in asteroid, carbonaceous chondrite, organic matter

Klaus Paschek, Kai Kohler, Ben K. D. Pearce, Kevin Lange, Thomas K. Henning, Oliver Trapp, Ralph E. Pudritz, and Dmitry A. Semenov Life 2022, 12(3), 404Published: 10 March 2022 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (DOWNLOAD) “The origin…

Asteroids and Life: How Special Is the Solar System?OPEN ACCESS

18/02/2022 21:00 · by karmaka · in asteroid, early chronology, planets/planetesimals, solar system, water

Rebecca G. Martin and Mario Livio The Astrophysical Journal Letters, Volume 926, Number 2Published: 18 February 2022 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (OPEN ACCESS) “Asteroid impacts with Earth may have played an essential role in the emergence…

Isotope effects at the origin of life: Fingerprints of the Strecker synthesis

20/01/2022 17:03 · by karmaka · in amino acids, carbonaceous chondrite, organic matter

L. Chimiak, J. Eiler, A. Sessions, C. Blumenfeld, M. Klatte, B.M. Stoltz Geochimica et Cosmochimica ActaAvailable online 20 January 2022 LINK “Strecker synthesis creates α–amino acids from prebiotically plausible substrates (cyanide, ammonia, and aldehydes) and…

Towards RNA life on Early Earth: From atmospheric HCN to biomolecule production in warm little pondsOPEN ACCESS

05/01/2022 15:47 · by karmaka · in Earth, meteorite, organic matter

Ben K. D. Pearce, Karan Molaverdikhani, Ralph E. Pudritz, Thomas Henning, Kaitlin E. Cerrillo Draft version , accepted to ApJ PDF (OPEN ACCESS) “The origin of life on Earth involves the early appearance of an…

Habitability of the early Earth: liquid water under a faint young Sun facilitated by strong tidal heating due to a closer MoonOPEN ACCESS

24/11/2021 21:16 · by karmaka · in Earth, Moon, sun, water

René Heller, Jan-Peter Duda, Max Winkler, Joachim Reitner & Laurent Gizon PalZ (2021)Published: 24 November 2021 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (OPEN ACCESS) “Geological evidence suggests liquid water near the Earth’s surface as early as 4.4 gigayears…

Exploring the environments of Martian impact-generated hydrothermal systems and their potential to support lifeOPEN ACCESS

12/07/2021 13:35 · by karmaka · in impact / impact-structures, Mars

Nisha K. Ramkissoon, Stuart M. R. Turner, Michael C. Macey, Susanne P. Schwenzer, Mark H. Reed, Victoria K. Pearson, Karen Olsson-Francis Meteoritics & Planetary ScienceVersion of Record online: 12 July 2021 LINK (OPEN ACCESS)PDF (OPEN…

Martian Magmatic Clay Minerals Forming Vesicles: Perfect Niches for Emerging Life?OPEN ACCESS

01/05/2021 17:53 · by karmaka · in Mars, martian, nakhlite

Jean-Christophe Viennet, Sylvain Bernard, Corentin Le Guillou, Violaine Sautter, Brian Grégoire, Albert Jambon, Sylvain Pont, Olivier Beyssac, Brigitte Zanda, Roger Hewins, Laurent Remusat Astrobiology, Vol. 21, No. 5Published Online: 30 Apr 2021 (Updated: 12 October…

Insoluble organic matter in chondrites: Archetypal melanin-like PAH-based multifunctionality at the origin of life?

19/03/2021 06:30 · by karmaka · in carbonaceous chondrite, organic matter

Marco d’Ischia, Paola Manini, Zita Martins, Laurent Remusat, Conel M.O’D. Alexander, Cristina Puzzarini, Vincenzo Barone, Raffaele Saladino Physics of Life ReviewsAvailable online 18 March 2021 LINK “Highlights • The IOM in chondrites is remarkably similar…