Our understanding of Earth's rock-hosted subsurface biosphere has advanced over the past
two decades through the collection and analysis of fluids and rocks from aquifers within the …

Conspectus Life is an exergonic chemical reaction. The same was true when the very first
cells emerged at life's origin. In order to live, all cells need a source of carbon, energy, and …

Autotrophic theories for the origin of metabolism posit that the first cells satisfied their carbon
needs from CO2 and were chemolithoautotrophs that obtained their energy and electrons …

Abiotic synthesis of formate and short hydrocarbons takes place in serpentinizing vents
where some members of vent microbial communities live on abiotic formate as their main …

The demonstration by Ivan Barnes et al. that the serpentinization of fresh Alpine-type
ultramafic rocks results in the exhalation of hot alkaline fluids is foundational to the …

Serpentinization in hydrothermal vents is central to some autotrophic theories for the origin
of life because it generates compartments, reductants, catalysts and gradients. During the …

Hydrogen (H 2) has powered microbial metabolism for roughly 4 billion years. The recent
discovery that it also fuels geochemical analogs of the most ancient biological carbon …

This study investigates the paleobiological significance of pyritic stromatolites from the 3.48
billion‐year‐old Dresser Formation, Pilbara Craton. By combining paleoenvironmental …

Serpentinization, a geochemical process found on modern and ancient Earth, provides an
ultra-reducing environment that can support microbial methanogenesis and acetogenesis …

Storytelling has been the primary means of knowledge transfer over human history. The
effectiveness and reach of stories are improved when the message is appropriate for the …