OoL digest — November 7th edition
Several papers this week from astrobiology, biochemistry and geophysics.
Astrobiology: Cheng examines salt sediments in a Mars analogue environment in China, Jarugula reports the detection of H$_2$O in a galaxy at $z=6.9$, Millan reports the detection of organic molecules on Mars by Curiosity, and Patapis examines the feasibility of applying molecular mapping of directly imaged exoplanets to JWST’s Medium Resolution Spectrometer.
Biochemistry: Jamy analyzes the rate of habitat transition in eukaryotes, Mayer the transamination between biological keto and amino acids through metal ions, and McMullen discusses how colloids can self-organize into predetermined structures.
Geophysics: Drake presents a thermochronological perspective on the habitability of Earth’s Precambrian cratons through time, Pohl explores the Late Ordovician mass extinction, and Putman examines the roles that both selection and dispersal limitation play in terrestrial serpentinites.
Astrobiology
Distribution characteristics of lipids from salt sediments in Qaidam Basin and their astrobiological significance – Cheng et al. – Science China Earth Sciences
Molecular Line Observations in Two Dusty Star-Forming Galaxies at z = 6.9 – Jarugula et al. – preprint
Organic molecules revealed in Mars’s Bagnold Dunes by Curiosity’s derivatization experiment – Millan et al. – Nature Astronomy
Direct emission spectroscopy of exoplanets with the medium resolution imaging spectrometer on board JWST MIRI: I. Molecular mapping and sensitivity to instrumental effects – Patapis et al. – preprint
Biochemistry
Global patterns and rates of habitat transitions across the eukaryotic tree of life – Jamy et al. – preprint
Mechanistic Insight into Metal Ion-Catalyzed Transamination – Mayer et al. – J. Am. Chem. Soc.
DNA self-organization controls valence in programmable colloid design – McMullen et al. – preprint
Geophysics
Thermochronologic perspectives on the deep-time evolution of the deep biosphere – Drake et al. – PNAS
Vertical decoupling in Late Ordovician anoxia due to reorganization of ocean circulation – Pohl et al. – Nature Geoscience
Microbial Communities in a Serpentinizing Aquifer Are Assembled through Strong Concurrent Dispersal Limitation and Selection – Putman et al. – mSystems