Habitability is a widely used word in the geoscience, planetary science, and astrobiology
literature, but what does it mean? In this review on habitability, we define it as the ability of an …

The detection of biomarkers plays a central role in our effort to establish whether there is, or
was, life beyond Earth. In this review, we address the importance of considering mineralogy …

The adsorption of nucleic acids to mineral matrixes can result in low extraction yields and
negatively influences molecular microbial ecology studies, in particular for low-biomass …

Much of the science underpinning the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic lies in
the soft matter domain. Coronaviruses are composite particles with a core of nucleic acids …

Fitness effects of mutations depend on environmental parameters. For example, mutations
that increase fitness of bacteria at high antibiotic concentration often decrease fitness in the …

Fluoroquinolones, antibiotics that cause DNA damage by inhibiting DNA topoisomerases,
are clinically important, but their mechanism of action is not yet fully understood. In particular, …

Humankind's innate curiosity makes us wonder whether life is or was present on other
planetary bodies such as Mars. The EuroGeoMars 2009 campaign was organized at the Mars …

Whole genome amplification methods facilitate the detection and characterization of microbial
communities in low biomass environments. We examined the extent to which the actual …

The subsurface exploration of other planetary bodies can be used to unravel their geological
history and assess their habitability. On Mars in particular, present-day habitable conditions …

Rapid methods for diagnosis of bacterial infections are urgently needed to reduce inappropriate
use of antibiotics, which contributes to antimicrobial resistance. In many rapid diagnostic …