The last decade has been marked by a large number of studies focused on understanding
the distribution of microorganisms in volcanic environments. These studies are motivated by …

Revealing the geological history of microbial life is very challenging. Microbes rarely are
preserved with morphological fidelity, and even when they are, morphology is a poor guide …

Fumaroles, commonly called steam vents, are ubiquitous features of geothermal habitats.
Recent studies have discovered microorganisms in condensed fumarole steam, but …

Biological informational polymers such as nucleic acids have the potential to provide
unambiguous evidence of life beyond Earth. To this end, we are developing an automated in …

Several robotic exploration missions will travel to Mars during this decade to investigate
habitability and the possible presence of life. Field research at Mars analogue sites such as …

Recent studies regarding the origins of life and Mars-Earth meteorite transfer simulations
suggest that biological informational polymers, such as nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), have …

In the last decade, we have seen significant changes in how we study composition and
diversity of microbial communities in various environmental samples. Advances in culture …

Extraction of good-quality metagenomic DNA from extreme environments is quite
challenging, particularly from high elevation hot spring sediments. Low microbial load, high …

Extremophiles, organisms that thrive under extreme conditions, are widespread and have
played a critical role in shaping the Earth as we know it today. Fifty years ago, the idea that …

In the French West Indies (FWI), the soil, andosols, ferralsols and nitisols, is highly polluted
by chlordecone, although this organochlorine insecticide extensively applied to banana …