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Khawaja N, Hortal Sánchez L, O'Sullivan TR, Bloema J, Napoleoni M, Klenner F, Beinlich A, Hillier J, John T, Postberg F. Laboratory characterization of hydrothermally processed oligopeptides in ice grains emitted by Enceladus and Europa. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2024; 382:20230201. [PMID: 38736335 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2023.0201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
The Cassini mission provided evidence for a global subsurface ocean and ongoing hydrothermal activity on Enceladus, based on results from Cassini's mass spectrometers. Laboratory simulations of hydrothermal conditions on icy moons are needed to further constrain the composition of ejected ice grains containing hydrothermally altered organic material. Here, we present results from our newly established facility to simulate the processing of ocean material within the temperature range 80-150°C and the pressure range 80-130 bar, representing conditions suggested for the water-rock interface on Enceladus. With this new facility, we investigate the hydrothermal processing of triglycine (GGG) peptide and, for the first time, analyse the extracted samples using laser-induced liquid beam ion desorption (LILBID) mass spectrometry, a laboratory analogue for impact ionization mass spectrometry of ice grains in space. We outline an approach to elucidate hydrothermally processed GGG in ice grains ejected from icy moons based on characteristic differences between GGG anion and cation mass spectra. These differences are linked to hydrothermal processing and thus provide a fingerprint of hydrothermal activity on extraterrestrial bodies. These results will serve as important guidelines for biosignatures potentially obtained by a future Enceladus mission and the SUrface Dust Analyzer (SUDA) instrument onboard Europa Clipper. This article is part of the theme issue 'Dust in the Solar System and beyond'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nozair Khawaja
- Department of Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin , Malteserstraße, Berlin 12249, Germany
- Institute of Space Systems, University of Stuttgart , Stuttgart 70569, Germany
| | - Lucía Hortal Sánchez
- Department of Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin , Malteserstraße, Berlin 12249, Germany
| | - Thomas R O'Sullivan
- Department of Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin , Malteserstraße, Berlin 12249, Germany
| | - Judith Bloema
- Department of Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin , Malteserstraße, Berlin 12249, Germany
| | - Maryse Napoleoni
- Department of Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin , Malteserstraße, Berlin 12249, Germany
| | - Fabian Klenner
- Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington , Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Andreas Beinlich
- Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin , Malteserstraße, Berlin 12249, Germany
| | - Jon Hillier
- Department of Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin , Malteserstraße, Berlin 12249, Germany
| | - Timm John
- Department of Mineralogy and Petrology, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin , Malteserstraße, Berlin 12249, Germany
| | - Frank Postberg
- Department of Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing, Institut für Geologische Wissenschaften, Freie Universität Berlin , Malteserstraße, Berlin 12249, Germany
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Aguzzi J, Cuadros J, Dartnell L, Costa C, Violino S, Canfora L, Danovaro R, Robinson NJ, Giovannelli D, Flögel S, Stefanni S, Chatzievangelou D, Marini S, Picardi G, Foing B. Marine Science Can Contribute to the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life. Life (Basel) 2024; 14:676. [PMID: 38929660 PMCID: PMC11205085 DOI: 10.3390/life14060676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2024] [Revised: 05/14/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Life on our planet likely evolved in the ocean, and thus exo-oceans are key habitats to search for extraterrestrial life. We conducted a data-driven bibliographic survey on the astrobiology literature to identify emerging research trends with marine science for future synergies in the exploration for extraterrestrial life in exo-oceans. Based on search queries, we identified 2592 published items since 1963. The current literature falls into three major groups of terms focusing on (1) the search for life on Mars, (2) astrobiology within our Solar System with reference to icy moons and their exo-oceans, and (3) astronomical and biological parameters for planetary habitability. We also identified that the most prominent research keywords form three key-groups focusing on (1) using terrestrial environments as proxies for Martian environments, centred on extremophiles and biosignatures, (2) habitable zones outside of "Goldilocks" orbital ranges, centred on ice planets, and (3) the atmosphere, magnetic field, and geology in relation to planets' habitable conditions, centred on water-based oceans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacopo Aguzzi
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (ICM)—CSIC, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; (N.J.R.); (D.C.); (G.P.)
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy; (S.S.); (S.M.)
| | - Javier Cuadros
- Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5D, UK;
| | - Lewis Dartnell
- School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish St, London W1W 6UW, UK;
| | - Corrado Costa
- Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi Dell’Economia Agraria—Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy; (C.C.); (S.V.)
| | - Simona Violino
- Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi Dell’Economia Agraria—Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy; (C.C.); (S.V.)
| | - Loredana Canfora
- Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l’Analisi dell’economia Agraria—Centro di Ricerca Agricoltura e Ambiente, 00182 Roma, Italy;
| | - Roberto Danovaro
- Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, Polytechnic University of Marcs (UNIVPM), 60131 Ancona, Italy;
| | - Nathan Jack Robinson
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (ICM)—CSIC, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; (N.J.R.); (D.C.); (G.P.)
| | - Donato Giovannelli
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy;
- National Research Council—Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnologies (CNR-IRBIM), 60125 Ancona, Italy
- Department of Marine and Coastal Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
- Marine Chemistry, Geochemistry Department—Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Falmouth, MA 02543, USA
- Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan
| | - Sascha Flögel
- GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, 24106 Kiel, Germany;
| | - Sergio Stefanni
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy; (S.S.); (S.M.)
| | | | - Simone Marini
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Naples, Italy; (S.S.); (S.M.)
- Institute of Marine Sciences, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISMAR), 19032 La Spezia, Italy
| | - Giacomo Picardi
- Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (ICM)—CSIC, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; (N.J.R.); (D.C.); (G.P.)
| | - Bernard Foing
- Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1081-1087, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands;
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Patel VK, Busupalli B. Light-modulated colour transformation in highly intertwined vertically growing silver tungstate tubes. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2023; 25:30727-30734. [PMID: 37934461 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04329k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
Achieving control over growth kinetics in chemical garden architectures is challenging due to the nonequilibrium conditions. In this study, we demonstrate the vertical growth of silver tungstate chemical garden tubes under both illuminated and dark conditions, a phenomenon not observed in a comparable silver-based system, specifically silver silicate, under light exposure. Physicochemical factors, viz. thermo chemical radius of the tungstate anion, its density-buoyancy relation, the osmotic pressure gradient, and the hydration enthalpy, contributed to the tube appearance in silver tungstate even in light. Tubes grown in light illumination were greyish black, while dark-grown tubes were creamy white, and both tubes appeared twisted and highly intertwined. The colour of the as obtained silver tungstate tubes could be transformed via exposure to light. In the presence of a strong oxidizing agent, the growing tubes retain the original creamy white colour even under illumination. Colour transformation in chemical garden tubes has not yet been observed, and this report could lead the way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vipul Kirtikumar Patel
- Department of Chemistry, School of Energy Technology, Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Gandhinagar 382426, Gujarat, India.
| | - Balanagulu Busupalli
- Department of Chemistry, School of Energy Technology, Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Gandhinagar 382426, Gujarat, India.
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Angelis G, Sant G, Vizirianakis IS, Pampalakis G. Growth of chemical gardens in gaseous acidic atmospheres. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:1505-1508. [PMID: 36655875 DOI: 10.1039/d2cc06843e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The generation of chemobrionic architectures through slow injection of aqueous silicate solution in gaseous TiCl4 is demonstrated. The tubes were characterized by XRD, SEM and wet chemistry control experiments, and their mechanism of formation was unraveled. These structures serve as laboratory models for calthemites or soda straws.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgios Angelis
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece.
| | - Georgios Sant
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece.
| | - Ioannis S Vizirianakis
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece. .,Department of Life and Health Sciences, University of Nicosia, Nicosia 2417, Cyprus
| | - Georgios Pampalakis
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, 54124, Greece.
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Angelis G, Katsanou ME, Giannopoulos-Dimitriou A, Vizirianakis IS, Pampalakis G. Generation of chemobrionic jellyfishes that mechanically divide, grow and exhibit biomimetic “symbiosis”. CHEMSYSTEMSCHEM 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/syst.202200001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Georgios Angelis
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki: Aristoteleio Panepistemio Thessalonikes Pharmacy GREECE
| | - Maria-Eleni Katsanou
- Aristoteleio Panepistimio Thessalonikis: Aristoteleio Panepistemio Thessalonikes Pharmacy GREECE
| | | | - Ioannis S. Vizirianakis
- Aristoteleio Panepistimio Thessalonikis: Aristoteleio Panepistemio Thessalonikes Pharmacy GREECE
| | - Georgios Pampalakis
- Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Pharmacy Pharmacy Panepistimioupolis 54124 Thessaloniki GREECE
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Barge LM, Rodriguez LE, Weber JM, Theiling BP. Determining the "Biosignature Threshold" for Life Detection on Biotic, Abiotic, or Prebiotic Worlds. ASTROBIOLOGY 2022; 22:481-493. [PMID: 34898272 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2021.0079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The field of prebiotic chemistry has demonstrated that complex organic chemical systems that exhibit various life-like properties can be produced abiotically in the laboratory. Understanding these chemical systems is important for astrobiology and life detection since we do not know the extent to which prebiotic chemistry might exist or have existed on other worlds. Nor do we know what signatures are diagnostic of an extant or "failed" prebiotic system. On Earth, biology has suppressed most abiotic organic chemistry and overprints geologic records of prebiotic chemistry; therefore, it is difficult to validate whether chemical signatures from future planetary missions are remnant or extant prebiotic systems. The "biosignature threshold" between whether a chemical signature is more likely to be produced by abiotic versus biotic chemistry on a given world could vary significantly, depending on the particular environment, and could change over time, especially if life were to emerge and diversify on that world. To interpret organic signatures detected during a planetary mission, we advocate for (1) gaining a more complete understanding of prebiotic/abiotic chemical possibilities in diverse planetary environments and (2) involving experimental prebiotic samples as analogues when generating comparison libraries for "life-detection" mission instruments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura M Barge
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Laura E Rodriguez
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | - Jessica M Weber
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
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Busupalli B, Patel VK. Dark–induced vertical growth of chemobrionic architectures in silver based precipitating chemical gardens. Chem Commun (Camb) 2022; 58:4172-4175. [DOI: 10.1039/d1cc06430d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Light sensitivity of many silver compounds has restricted observation of silver based chemical gardens. Here we report for the first time, silver based chemical gardens grown in dark. An identical...
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Getenet M, Rieder J, Kellermeier M, Kunz W, Manuel García-Ruiz J. Tubular Structures of Calcium Carbonate: Formation, Characterization, and Implications in Natural Mineral Environments. Chemistry 2021; 27:16135-16144. [PMID: 34590745 DOI: 10.1002/chem.202101417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
Chemical gardens are self-assembled tubular precipitates formed by a combination of osmosis, buoyancy, and chemical reaction, and thought to be capable of catalyzing prebiotic condensation reactions. In many cases, the tube wall is a bilayer structure with the properties of a diaphragm and/or a membrane. The interest in silica gardens as microreactors for materials science has increased over the past decade because of their ability to create long-lasting electrochemical potential. In this study, we have grown single macroscopic tubes based on calcium carbonate and monitored their time-dependent behavior by in situ measurements of pH, ionic concentrations inside and outside the tubular membranes, and electrochemical potential differences. Furthermore, we have characterized the composition and structure of the tubular membranes by using ex situ X-ray diffraction, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, as well as scanning electron microscopy. Based on the collected data, we propose a physicochemical mechanism for the formation and ripening of these peculiar CaCO3 structures and compare the results to those of other chemical garden systems. We find that the wall of the macroscopic calcium carbonate tubes is a bilayer of texturally distinct but compositionally similar calcite showing high crystallinity. The resulting high density of the material prevents macroscopic calcium carbonate gardens from developing significant electrochemical potential differences. In the light of these observations, possible implications in materials science and prebiotic (geo)chemistry are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melese Getenet
- Laboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR), Avenida de las Palmeras 4, Armilla, 18100, Granada, Spain
| | - Julian Rieder
- Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Regensburg, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Matthias Kellermeier
- Material Physics, BASF SE, RAA/OS-B007, Carl-Bosch-Strasse 38, 67056, Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany
| | - Werner Kunz
- Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Regensburg, 93053, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Juan Manuel García-Ruiz
- Laboratorio de Estudios Cristalográficos, Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR), Avenida de las Palmeras 4, Armilla, 18100, Granada, Spain
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