ASTROBIOLOGY 是被引用次数最多的同行评审期刊，致力于了解生命的起源、进化和宇宙中的分布，重点关注行星际探索和实验室研究的新发现和发现。ASTROBIOLOGY 覆盖范围包括：天体物理学；天体古生物学; 行星; 生物天文学; 宇宙化学; 生态基因组学; 外星生物学; 极端微生物; 地球微生物学; 引力生物学; 生命探测技术; 陨石学; 行星地球科学; 行星保护; 益生元化学; 空间探索技术; 地球化

Astrobiology is the most cited peer-reviewed journal dedicated to understanding the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe. It focuses on new discoveries in planetary exploration and laboratory research. The scope of Astrobiology includes: astrophysics, astrobiology, planets, bioastronomy, astrochemistry, ecological genomics, exobiology, extremophiles, earth microbiology, gravitational biology, life detection technologies, meteoritics, planetary earth sciences, planetary protection, prebiotic chemistry, space exploration technologies, and geochemistry.

《Astrobiology》是引用次数最多的同行评审期刊，专注于生命的起源、进化及其在宇宙中的分布。期刊特别关注行星际探索和实验室研究中的新发现。其覆盖范围包括：天体物理学、天体古生物学、行星、生物天文学、宇宙化学、生态基因组学、外星生物学、极端微生物、地球微生物学、引力生物学、生命探测技术、陨石学、行星地球科学、行星保护、益生元化学、空间探索技术及地球化学。

Astrobiology

Laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometry (MS) shows great potential for

Siveen Thlaijeh

Kevin Lepot

Yvain Carpentier

Armelle Riboulleau

Dumitru Duca

Marin Vojkovic

Anuradha Tewari

Johan Sarazin

Mathilde Bon

Nicolas Nuns

Nicolas Tribovillard

Cristian Focsa

Characterization of Sulfur-Rich Microbial Organic Matter in Jurassic Carbonates Using Laser-Assisted Mass Spectrometry

利用激光辅助质谱法表征侏罗纪碳酸盐岩中富硫微生物有机质的特征

Recent ground-based observations of Venus have detected a single spectral feature consistent with phosphine (PH3) in the middle atmosphere, a gas which has been suggested as a biosignature on rocky planets. The presence of PH3 in the oxidized atmosphere of Venus has not yet been explained by any abiotic process. However, state-of-the-art experimental and theoretical research published in previous works demonstrated a photochemical origin of another potential biosignature—the hydride methane—from carbon dioxide over acidic mineral surfaces on Mars. The production of methane includes formation of the HC · O radical. Our density functional theory (DFT) calculations predict an energetically plausible reaction network leading to PH3, involving either HC · O or H· radicals. We suggest that, similarly to the photochemical formation of methane over acidic minerals already discussed for Mars, the origin of PH3 in Venus' atmosphere could be explained by radical chemistry starting with the reaction of ·PO with HC·O, the latter being produced by reduction of CO2 over acidic dust in upper atmospheric layers of Venus by ultraviolet radiation. HPO, H2P·O, and H3P·OH have been identified as key intermediate species in our model pathway for phosphine synthesis.

Klaudia Mráziková

Antonín Knížek

Homa Saeidfirozeh

Lukáš Petera

Svatopluk Civiš

Franz Saija

Giuseppe Cassone

Paul B. Rimmer

Martin Ferus

A Novel Abiotic Pathway for Phosphine Synthesis over Acidic Dust in Venus' Atmosphere

金星大气中酸性尘埃上磷化氢合成的新非生物途径

The possibility of life in the venusian clouds was proposed in the 1960s, and recently this hypothesis has been revived with the potential detection of phosphine (PH3) in Venus' atmosphere. These observations may have detected ∼5-20 ppb phosphine on Venus (Greaves et al., 2020), which raises questions about venusian atmospheric/geochemical processes and suggests that this phosphine could possibly be generated by biological processes. In such a claim, it is essential to understand the abiotic phosphorus chemistry that may occur under Venus-relevant conditions, particularly those processes that may result in phosphine generation. Here, we discuss two related abiotic routes for phosphine generation within the atmosphere of Venus. Based on our assessment, corrosion of large impactors as they ablate near Venus' cloud layer, and the presence of reduced phosphorus compounds in the subcloud layer could result in production of phosphine and may explain the phosphine detected in Venus' atmosphere or on other rocky planets. We end on a cautionary note: although there may be life in the clouds of Venus, the detection of a simple, single gas, phosphine, is likely not a decisive indicator.

Arthur Omran

Christopher Oze

Brian Jackson

Chris Mehta

Laura M. Barge

Jeffrey Bada

Matthew A. Pasek

Phosphine Generation Pathways on Rocky Planets

岩石行星上磷化氢的生成途径

We present a testable hypothesis related to an origin of life on land in which fluctuating volcanic hot spring pools play a central role. The hypothesis is based on experimental evidence that lipid-encapsulated polymers can be synthesized by cycles of hydration and dehydration to form protocells. Drawing on metaphors from the bootstrapping of a simple computer operating system, we show how protocells cycling through wet, dry, and moist phases will subject polymers to combinatorial selection and draw structural and catalytic functions out of initially random sequences, including structural stabilization, pore formation, and primitive metabolic activity. We propose that protocells aggregating into a hydrogel in the intermediate moist phase of wet-dry cycles represent a primitive progenote system. Progenote populations can undergo selection and distribution, construct niches in new environments, and enable a sharing network effect that can collectively evolve them into the first microbial communities. Laboratory and field experiments testing the first steps of the scenario are summarized. The scenario is then placed in a geological setting on the early Earth to suggest a plausible pathway from life's origin in chemically optimal freshwater hot spring pools to the emergence of microbial communities tolerant to more extreme conditions in dilute lakes and salty conditions in marine environments. A continuity is observed for biogenesis beginning with simple protocell aggregates, through the transitional form of the progenote, to robust microbial mats that leave the fossil imprints of stromatolites so representative in the rock record. A roadmap to future testing of the hypothesis is presented. We compare the oceanic vent with land-based pool scenarios for an origin of life and explore their implications for subsequent evolution to multicellular life such as plants. We conclude by utilizing the hypothesis to posit where life might also have emerged in habitats such as Mars or Saturn's icy moon Enceladus. "To postulate one fortuitously catalyzed reaction, perhaps catalyzed by a metal ion, might be reasonable, but to postulate a suite of them is to appeal to magic." -Leslie Orgel.

Bruce Damer

David Deamer

The Hot Spring Hypothesis for an Origin of Life

生命起源的热泉假说

Recent measurements of methane (CH4) by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) now confront us with robust data that demand interpretation. Thus far, the MSL data have revealed a baseline level of CH4 (∼0.4 parts per billion by volume [ppbv]), with seasonal variations, as well as greatly enhanced spikes of CH4 with peak abundances of ∼7 ppbv. What do these CH4 revelations with drastically different abundances and temporal signatures represent in terms of interior geochemical processes, or is martian CH4 a biosignature? Discerning how CH4 generation occurs on Mars may shed light on the potential habitability of Mars. There is no evidence of life on the surface of Mars today, but microbes might reside beneath the surface. In this case, the carbon flux represented by CH4 would serve as a link between a putative subterranean biosphere on Mars and what we can measure above the surface. Alternatively, CH4 records modern geochemical activity. Here we ask the fundamental question: how active is Mars, geochemically and/or biologically? In this article, we examine geological, geochemical, and biogeochemical processes related to our overarching question. The martian atmosphere and surface are an overwhelmingly oxidizing environment, and life requires pairing of electron donors and electron acceptors, that is, redox gradients, as an essential source of energy. Therefore, a fundamental and critical question regarding the possibility of life on Mars is, "Where can we find redox gradients as energy sources for life on Mars?" Hence, regardless of the pathway that generates CH4 on Mars, the presence of CH4, a reduced species in an oxidant-rich environment, suggests the possibility of redox gradients supporting life and habitability on Mars. Recent missions such as ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter may provide mapping of the global distribution of CH4. To discriminate between abiotic and biotic sources of CH4 on Mars, future studies should use a series of diagnostic geochemical analyses, preferably performed below the ground or at the ground/atmosphere interface, including measurements of CH4 isotopes, methane/ethane ratios, H2 gas concentration, and species such as acetic acid. Advances in the fields of Mars exploration and instrumentation will be driven, augmented, and supported by an improved understanding of atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, deep subsurface biogeochemistry, astrobiology, planetary geology, and geophysics. Future Mars exploration programs will have to expand the integration of complementary areas of expertise to generate synergistic and innovative ideas to realize breakthroughs in advancing our understanding of the potential of life and habitable conditions having existed on Mars. In this spirit, we conducted a set of interdisciplinary workshops. From this series has emerged a vision of technological, theoretical, and methodological innovations to explore the martian subsurface and to enhance spatial tracking of key volatiles, such as CH4.

Yuk L. Yung

Pin Chen

Kenneth Nealson

Sushil Atreya

Patrick Beckett

Jennifer G. Blank

Bethany Ehlmann

John Eiler

Giuseppe Etiope

James G. Ferry

Francois Forget

Peter Gao

Renyu Hu

Armin Kleinböhl

Ronald Klusman

Franck Lefèvre

Charles Miller

Michael Mischna

Michael Mumma

Sally Newman

Dorothy Oehler

Mitchio Okumura

Ronald Oremland

Victoria Orphan

Radu Popa

Michael Russell

Linhan Shen

Barbara Sherwood Lollar

Robert Staehle

Vlada Stamenković

Daniel Stolper

Alexis Templeton

Ann C. Vandaele

Sébastien Viscardy

Christopher R. Webster

Paul O. Wennberg

Michael L. Wong

John Worden

Methane on Mars and Habitability: Challenges and Responses

火星甲烷与宜居性：挑战与回应

Life is a complex, dynamic chemical system that requires a dense fluid solvent in which to take place. A common assumption is that the most likely solvent for life is liquid water, and some researchers argue that water is the only plausible solvent. However, a persistent theme in astrobiological research postulates that other liquids might be cosmically common and could be solvents for the chemistry of life. In this article, we present a new framework for the analysis of candidate solvents for life, and we deploy this framework to review substances that have been suggested as solvent candidates. We categorize each solvent candidate through the following four criteria: occurrence, solvation, solute stability, and solvent chemical functionality. Our semiquantitative approach addresses all the requirements for a solvent not only from the point of view of its chemical properties but also from the standpoint of its biochemical function. Only the protonating solvents fulfill all the chemical requirements to be a solvent for life, and of those only water and concentrated sulfuric acid are also likely to be abundant in a rocky planetary context. Among the nonprotonating solvents, liquid CO

William Bains

Janusz J. Petkowski

Sara Seager

Alternative Solvents for Life: Framework for Evaluation, Current Status, and Future Research

生命替代溶剂：评估框架、现状与未来研究

Nontraditional stable isotopes of bioactive metals emerged as novel proxies for reconstructing the biogeochemical cycling of metals, which serve as cofactors in major metabolic pathways. The fractionation of metal isotopes between ambient fluid and microorganisms is ultimately recorded in authigenic minerals, such as carbonates, which makes them potentially more reliable than standard biomarkers in organic matter. Stromatolitic carbonates are geochemical archives that allow for the study of the long-term interplay of the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere through deep time, with the unique potential to investigate early life environments and the evolution of the metallome. The present study uses stromatolites from the ∼2.95-billion-year-old Pongola Supergroup (S. Africa) as a field laboratory for combined

Simon V. Hohl

Yiwen Lv

Yi-Bo Lin

Yinggang Zhang

Yuxiang Jiang

Guang-Yi Wei

Sebastian Viehmann

Mesoarchean Microbial Cd, Ba, and Ni Cycling: Evidence for Photosynthesis in Pongola Group Stromatolites through Novel Stable Isotopes and High-Resolution Trace Element Maps

中元古代微生物镉、钡和镍循环：通过新型稳定同位素和高分辨率痕量元素图谱揭示的Pongola群叠层石中的光合作用证据

Life on Earth relies on mechanisms to store heritable information and translate this information into cellular machinery required for biological activity. In all known life, storage, regulation, and translation are provided by DNA, RNA, and ribosomes. Life beyond Earth, even if ancestrally or chemically distinct from life

Jordan M. McKaig

MinGyu Kim

Christopher E. Carr

Translation as a Biosignature

作为生物特征的翻译

Amino acids have been identified in extraterrestrial materials such as meteorites and returned samples from asteroids and comets. Some of these amino acids or their precursors may have formed on icy interstellar dust grains or at a later phase when these grains became incorporated into larger parent bodies. In this work, we simulated parent body aqueous alteration of the residues from irradiated interstellar ice analogs in the presence of relevant minerals (pulverized serpentinite and Allende meteorite). We tracked the change in amino acid abundances as a function of hydrothermal processing time and examined how these differed based on the presence of minerals. We find that the presence of minerals and their mineralogy can have a significant impact on the formation and destruction of amino acids during simulated aqueous alteration experiments.

Christopher K. Materese

José C. Aponte

Hannah L. McLain

Kendra K. Farnsworth

Patrick D. Tribbett

Frank T. Ferguson

Christine A. Knudson

Amy C. McAdam

Michael T. Thorpe

Jason P. Dworkin

Simplified Meteorite Parent Body Alteration of Amino Acids by Hydrothermal Processes

水热过程对陨石母体氨基酸的简化改造

Oxidative weathering is a major source of bio-essential micronutrients on Earth today; however, this flux would have been muted on the early Earth or on Mars, where atmospheric O

Abbreviation	Astrobiology
Journal Impact	3.69
Quartiles(Global)	GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY(Q1)

ISSN	1531-1074, 1557-8070
h-index	102

Publication Information	Publisher: Mary Ann Liebert Inc.，Publishing cycle: Bimonthly，Journal Type: journal，Open Access Journals: No
Basic data	Year of publication: 2001，Proportion of original research papers: 94.55%，Self Citation Rate:14.30%， Gold OA Rate: 28.28%
Average review cycle	网友分享经验：平均3.0个月
Average recruitment ratio	网友分享经验：较易

Astrobiology

Journal Citation Format

A journal article with 1 author

A journal article with 2 authors

A journal article with 3 authors

A journal article with 5 or more authors

Books Citation Format

Thesis Citation Format

Web sites Citation Format

Patent Citation Format

Staying up late manually editing references? ivySCI automatically matches journals and helps you generate references with a single click.

Share Submission Experience