Surface biosignatures of exo-earths: remote detection of extraterrestrial life

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Siddharth HegdeLynn Rothschild

Abstract

Exoplanet discovery has made remarkable progress, with the first rocky planets having been detected in the central star's liquid water habitable zone. The remote sensing techniques used to characterize such planets for potential habitability and life rely solely on our understanding of life on Earth. The vegetation red edge from terrestrial land plants is often used as a direct signature of life, but it occupies only a small niche in the environmental parameter space that binds life on present-day Earth and has been widespread for only about 460 My. To more fully exploit the diversity of the one example of life known, we measured the spectral characteristics of 137 microorganisms containing a range of pigments, including ones isolated from Earth's most extreme environments. Our database covers the visible and near-infrared to the short-wavelength infrared (0.35-2.5 µm) portions of the electromagnetic spectrum and is made freely available from biosignatures.astro.cornell.edu. Our results show how the reflectance properties are dominated by the absorption of light by pigments in the visible portion and by strong absorptions by the cellular water of hydration in the infrared (up to 2.5 µm) portion of the spectrum. Our spectral lib...Continue Reading

References

Jul 3, 1965·Nature·J Lederberg
Aug 7, 1965·Nature·J E Lovelock
Mar 10, 2001·Nature·L J Rothschild, R L Mancinelli
Dec 18, 2003·Astrobiology·J Brad DaltonCorey S Jamieson
Oct 3, 2006·International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology·Philippe Normand
May 20, 2008·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Lynn J Rothschild
Dec 21, 2012·Astrobiology·Siddharth Hegde, Lisa Kaltenegger
Aug 13, 2014·BioMed Research International·Maria del Carmen Montero-CalasanzHans-Peter Klenk

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Mar 31, 2016·Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere : the Journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life·O PodolichN Kozyrovska
Apr 27, 2017·Astrobiology·Victoria S Meadows
Apr 21, 2018·Astrobiology·David C CatlingShawn Domagal-Goldman
May 10, 2018·Astrobiology·Nancy Y KiangSara I Walker
Jul 17, 2018·Astrobiology·Manasvi Lingam, Abraham Loeb
Aug 30, 2019·Extremophiles : Life Under Extreme Conditions·Shiladitya DasSarmaEdward W Schwieterman
May 5, 2018·Astrobiology·Edward W SchwietermanTimothy W Lyons
Jun 26, 2018·Astrobiology·Yuka FujiiKevin B Stevenson
Jul 12, 2017·Astrobiology·Gianni CataldiGöran Olofsson

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.

Related Papers

Astrobiology
Siddharth Hegde, Lisa Kaltenegger
Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere : the Journal of the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life
Giovanna Tinetti
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved