The affinities of extinct organisms are often difficult to resolve using morphological data
alone. Chemical analysis of carbonaceous specimens can complement traditional …

The significant degradation that fossilized biomolecules may experience during burial
makes it challenging to assess the biogenicity of organic microstructures in ancient rocks …

In situ infrared (IR) and Raman microspectroscopy have been conducted on Neoproterozoic,
organic-walled microfossils (prokaryotic fossils) in doubly polished, petrographic thin …

The terrestrialization of life has profoundly affected the biosphere, geosphere and
atmosphere, and the Geological Magazine has published key works charting the …

Fossilized lipids preserved in sedimentary rocks offer singular insights into the Earth's
palaeobiology. These 'biomarkers' encode information pertaining to the oxygenation of the …

Reconstructing the original biogeochemistry of organic fossils requires quantifying the extent
of the chemical transformations that they underwent during burial-induced maturation …

Opaline silica deposits on Mars may be good target sites where organic biosignatures could
be preserved. Potential analogues on Earth are provided by ancient cherts containing …

Microfossils preserved in chert from the ̃1. 9 Ga Gunflint Formation (Schreiber Beach,
Ontario, Canada) were studied with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and analytical …

Abstract The 3,465-million year-old Apex chert of the Pilbara Craton in Western Australia
has been controversially reported to contain some of the oldest fossil evidence for life: tiny …

Our window into the Earth's ancient microbial past is narrow and obscured by missing data.
However, we can glean information about ancient microbial ecosystems using fossil lipids …