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Fischer-Gödde M, Tusch J, Goderis S, Bragagni A, Mohr-Westheide T, Messling N, Elfers BM, Schmitz B, Reimold WU, Maier WD, Claeys P, Koeberl C, Tissot FLH, Bizzarro M, Münker C. Ruthenium isotopes show the Chicxulub impactor was a carbonaceous-type asteroid. Science 2024; 385:752-756. [PMID: 39146402 DOI: 10.1126/science.adk4868] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
An impact at Chicxulub, Mexico, occurred 66 million years ago, producing a global stratigraphic layer that marks the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene eras. That layer contains elevated concentrations of platinum-group elements, including ruthenium. We measured ruthenium isotopes in samples taken from three Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary sites, five other impacts that occurred between 36 million to 470 million years ago, and ancient 3.5-billion- to 3.2-billion-year-old impact spherule layers. Our data indicate that the Chicxulub impactor was a carbonaceous-type asteroid, which had formed beyond the orbit of Jupiter. The five other impact structures have isotopic signatures that are more consistent with siliceous-type asteroids, which formed closer to the Sun. The ancient spherule layer samples are consistent with impacts of carbonaceous-type asteroids during Earth's final stages of accretion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Fischer-Gödde
- Institut für Geologie und Mineralogie, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Jonas Tusch
- Institut für Geologie und Mineralogie, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany
| | - Steven Goderis
- Archeology, Environmental Changes and Geochemistry Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Alessandro Bragagni
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, 50121 Firenze, Italy
- Institute of Marine Sciences, National Research Council, 40129 Bologna, Italy
| | - Tanja Mohr-Westheide
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Nils Messling
- Geochemistry and Isotope Geology Department, Geoscience Center, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Bo-Magnus Elfers
- Zentrallabor, Technical University Hamburg, 21073 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Birger Schmitz
- Astrogeobiology Laboratory, Lund University, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Wolf U Reimold
- Laboratório de Geocronologia e Geoquímica Isotópica, Instituto de Geociências, Universidade de Brasília, CEP 70910-900 Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Wolfgang D Maier
- School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
| | - Philippe Claeys
- Archeology, Environmental Changes and Geochemistry Research Group, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Christian Koeberl
- Department of Lithospheric Research, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - François L H Tissot
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA 91125, USA
| | - Martin Bizzarro
- Center for Star and Planet Formation, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, DK-1350 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Carsten Münker
- Institut für Geologie und Mineralogie, University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany
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Marshall M. Dinosaur-killing Chicxulub asteroid formed in Solar System's outer reaches. Nature 2024:10.1038/d41586-024-02647-4. [PMID: 39147817 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-024-02647-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
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Khalfallah HB, Jelassi M, Rissaoui H, Barchouchi M, Baraille C, Gardes J, Demongeot J. Information Gradient among Nucleotide Sequences of Essential RNAs from an Evolutionary Perspective. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:7521. [PMID: 39062761 PMCID: PMC11277137 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25147521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2024] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 07/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
We hypothesize that the first ancestral "protocell" molecular structures, i.e., the first RNAs and peptides that gradually transformed into real cells once the Earth had cooled sufficiently for organic molecules to appear, have left traces in the RNAs and the genes in present cells. We propose a circular RNA that could have been one of these ancestral structures whose vestigial pentameric subsequences would mark the evolution from this key moment when the protocells began to join with living organisms. In particular, we propose that, in present RNAs (ribosomal or messenger), which play an important role in the metabolism of current cells, we look for traces of the proposed primitive structure in the form of pentamers (or longer fragments) that belong to their nucleotide sequence. The result obtained can be summarized in the existence of a gradient of occurrence of such pentamers, with a high frequency for the most vital functions (protein synthesis, nucleic synthesis, cell respiration, etc.). This gradient is also visible between organisms, from the oldest (Archaea) to the most recent (Eukaryotes) in the evolution of species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Houssem Ben Khalfallah
- Laboratory AGEIS EA 7407, Team Tools for e-Gnosis Medical & Labcom CNRS/UGA/OrangeLabs Telecom4Health, Faculty of Medicine, University Grenoble Alpes (UGA), 38700 La Tronche, France; (H.B.K.); (H.R.); (M.B.)
- ENSI—Ecole Nationale des Sciences de l’Informatique, Campus Universitaire de la Manouba, La Manouba 2010, Tunisia
| | - Mariem Jelassi
- ENSI—Ecole Nationale des Sciences de l’Informatique, Campus Universitaire de la Manouba, La Manouba 2010, Tunisia
| | - Hajar Rissaoui
- Laboratory AGEIS EA 7407, Team Tools for e-Gnosis Medical & Labcom CNRS/UGA/OrangeLabs Telecom4Health, Faculty of Medicine, University Grenoble Alpes (UGA), 38700 La Tronche, France; (H.B.K.); (H.R.); (M.B.)
| | - Mohtadi Barchouchi
- Laboratory AGEIS EA 7407, Team Tools for e-Gnosis Medical & Labcom CNRS/UGA/OrangeLabs Telecom4Health, Faculty of Medicine, University Grenoble Alpes (UGA), 38700 La Tronche, France; (H.B.K.); (H.R.); (M.B.)
| | | | - Joël Gardes
- Orange Laboratorys, 38229 Meylan, France; (C.B.); (J.G.)
| | - Jacques Demongeot
- Laboratory AGEIS EA 7407, Team Tools for e-Gnosis Medical & Labcom CNRS/UGA/OrangeLabs Telecom4Health, Faculty of Medicine, University Grenoble Alpes (UGA), 38700 La Tronche, France; (H.B.K.); (H.R.); (M.B.)
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Tankersley KB, Meyers SD, Meyers SA, Lentz DL. Reply to: Arguments for a comet as cause of the Hopewell airburst are unsubstantiated. Sci Rep 2022; 12:12113. [PMID: 35840768 PMCID: PMC9287293 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16212-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth Barnett Tankersley
- Department of Anthropology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA.
- Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA.
| | - Stephen D Meyers
- Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA
| | - Stephanie A Meyers
- Department of Biology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA
| | - David L Lentz
- Department of Biology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA
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Desch SJ, Jackson AP, Noviello JL, Anbar AD. The breakup of a long-period comet is not a likely match to the Chicxulub impactor. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10415. [PMID: 35729176 PMCID: PMC9213478 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12873-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Steven J Desch
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1404, USA.
| | - Alan P Jackson
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1404, USA
| | - Jessica L Noviello
- NASA Postdoctoral Management Fellow, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
| | - Ariel D Anbar
- School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1404, USA.,School of Molecular Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287-1604, USA
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Reply to: The breakup of a long-period comet is not a likely match to the Chicxulub impactor. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10427. [PMID: 35729331 PMCID: PMC9213458 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14445-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
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Feng R, Zhang Y, Liu J, Zhang Y, Li J, Baoyin H. Soft Robotic Perspective and Concept for Planetary Small Body Exploration. Soft Robot 2021; 9:889-899. [PMID: 34939854 DOI: 10.1089/soro.2021.0054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Tens of thousands of planetary small bodies (asteroids, comets, and small moons) are flying beside our Earth with little understanding. Explorers on the surfaces of these bodies, unlike the Lunar or Mars rovers, have only few attempts and no sophisticated solution. Current concerns mainly focus on landing uncertainties and mobility limitations, which soft robots may suitably aid utilizing their compliance and adaptivity. In this study, we present a perspective of designating soft robots for the surface exploration. Based on the lessons from recent space missions and an astronomy survey, we summarize the surface features of typical small bodies and the associated challenges for possible soft robotic design. Different kinds of soft mobile robots are reviewed, whose morphology and locomotion are analyzed for the microgravity, rugged environment. We also propose an alternative to current asteroid hoppers, as a case of applying progress in soft material. Specifically, the structure is a deployable cube whose outer shell is made of shape memory polymer, so that it can achieve morphing and variable stiffness between liftoff and landing phases. Dynamic simulations of the free-fall landing are carried out with a rigid counterpart for comparison. The results show that the soft deployed shell can effectively contribute to dissipating the kinetic energy and attenuating the excessive rebounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruoyu Feng
- School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Jinyu Liu
- School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yonglong Zhang
- School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Junfeng Li
- School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Hexi Baoyin
- School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
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