An expanded, non-alphabetic index of Exobiological/Astrobiological topics featured on AstoExo.
Horizontal Gene Transfer - Most organisms practice Vertical Gene Transfer, which is the passing of genes from parent to offspring. Several organisms, however, from unrelated taxonomic classifications have learned to take genes from other organisms and splice them into their own. Uh oh...#EvolutionJustGotReal
Arsenic-using Bacteria Claim Refuted - Felisa Wolfe-Simon and her team claim the discovery of bacteria GFAJ-1, which could replace phosphorous in its DNA with the poisonous arsenic. Two new papers out in Science refute this claim #whenscientistsfight
The Tardigrades: Earth's Toughest Microbial Astronauts - Just how tough is life on Earth. Not very tough...most of us are quite fragile when considering the rigors of space. However, the Tardigrades turned out to be the ultimate champion of Earth-based life, as NASA found out when they exposed them to the vacuum of space #WaterBearSpaceProgram
Carnivorous Plants and Photosynthetic Animals - What happens when the neat little categories in biology no longer apply? Plants that eat bugs, aphids that use photosynthesis, and a sea slug that can steal chloroplasts from its algae food source.
