Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · 2d

Whoops, here's one which does: www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7.... Thanks for checking @earthscista.bsky.social!

Abiotic Sources of Fixed Nitrogen Sustained Early Ecosystems for Several Hundred MIllion Years After the Origin of Life

Nitrogen plays a crucial role in controlling biological productivity. However, it remains unknown how Earth’s earliest ecosystems accessed bioavailable forms of nitrogen. Here, we present genomi...

www.researchsquare.com

1 1

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · 5d

My latest research suggests that abiotic sources of fixed nitrogen sustained Earth's early ecosystems. Preprint here: www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-7...

Tune into the Geomicrobiology Research in Progress Meeting on Wed. at 11:45 am to find out more.

@earthscista.bsky.social

1 1 3

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · Jul 26

Excited to have seen and heard (via bat detector) noctule bats around Kinessburn and Cockshaugh park in St. Andrews yesterday evening! One of the UK's largest species at the size of a blackbird! Big thanks to Dr. Sasha Newar and the NVC Group for organizing our sunset bat tour

x.com/lizardschwar...

Noctule bat (larger) and common pipistrelle (smaller) side-by-side. Image courtesy of https://x.com/lizardschwartz/status/1439693287175114756

1

Reposted by Dr Joanne Boden

Laura Eme @lauraeme.bsky.social · Jun 17

🎉 Now out “Phylogenomic analyses indicate the archaeal superphylum DPANN originated from free‑living euryarchaeal‑like ancestors” www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Phylogenomic analyses indicate the archaeal superphylum DPANN originated from free-living euryarchaeal-like ancestors - Nature Microbiology

Phylogenetic reconstructions with conserved protein markers from the 11 known DPANN phyla reveal their monophyletic placement within the Euryarchaeota.

www.nature.com

2 38 88

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · Jun 7

@earthscista.bsky.social

1

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · Jun 7

A new source of ammonium to support the growth and development of early life on Earth!

Fawn Holland @fawnholland.bsky.social · Jun 4

Igneous rocks… as a source of bioavailable nitrogen? 👀

First co-author paper is out! Give it a look: www.geochemicalperspectivesletters.org/article2517/

Abstract Figure: A schematic showing the planetary-scale mechanisms behind converting atmospheric N2 to bioavailable forms of nitrogen in the prebiotic world. Flux values in mol yr-1.

1 4

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · Jun 7

This is really cool Fawn! It fits quite nicely with some findings I am getting from the genomic records of biological ammonium utilization. What sort of time period are you thinking for 'early Archean'? From 4 to 3.5 Ga maybe?

2

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · May 30

#2 Potentially because molybdenum - the metal more widely used for these processes - was not widely available. Ancient Mars also had hot springs and liquid water. Might similar processes have happened there?

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · May 30

#1 Using a combination of isotope chemistry and genetics, Galloway et al found that microbes in hot springs were generating ammonia using iron and/or vanadium-based enzymes...

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · May 30

Delighted to have played a small part in Galloway et al's research on nitrogen cycling in geothermal springs at @earthscista.bsky.social.

More here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Alongside some behind-the-scenes shots from fieldwork

2 1 3

Reposted by Dr Joanne Boden

Simon Lee @simonleewx.com · May 12

How the weather got ‘stuck’ over the UK – and produced an unusually dry and warm spring

Article in The Conversation from me and @mattpattclimate.bsky.social, discussing spring 2025, blocking and climate change.

theconversation.com/how-the-weat...

How the weather got ‘stuck’ over the UK – and produced an unusually dry and warm spring

‘April showers’ were few and far between in 2025.

theconversation.com

2 12 26

Reposted by Dr Joanne Boden

c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · May 13

This is the Groove-billed Ani (Crotophaga sulcirostris), and it's just straight up a dinosaur.

Like, I know *all* birds are technically avian dinosaurs, but my first thought looking at this guy is: dinosaur.

(📷: Suzie McCann, eBird)

A coal-black bird with a bill that covers the whole front of the face. A long grackle-like boat tail, muscular legs and an alert black eye. The bird sits on red sand next to water, as if a mud puddle or stream.
CREDIT: Suzie McCann, eBird, 01 Jun 2019, Santa Clara Ranch, Starr, Texas, United States

310 1.9K 14K

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · May 12

Worth watching and thinking about when we buy cod, haddock, halibut, sole, and prawns that are often trawled. I hope it says how they are caught on food labels so we can avoid bottom-trawled catches...

spencer roberts 🦈 @unpopularscience.bsky.social · May 9

I will forever be haunted by this footage.

Trawling has only been filmed underwater a few times in documentary history, and never with such clarity.

What’s so heart-rending about these shots is watching how the animals don’t just get swept up — they swim for their lives.
🌎🦑🧪

1

Reposted by Dr Joanne Boden

spencer roberts 🦈 @unpopularscience.bsky.social · May 9

I will forever be haunted by this footage.

Trawling has only been filmed underwater a few times in documentary history, and never with such clarity.

What’s so heart-rending about these shots is watching how the animals don’t just get swept up — they swim for their lives.
🌎🦑🧪

86 1.3K 1.8K

Reposted by Dr Joanne Boden

Dr. Dawn Wright @deepseadawn.bsky.social · May 11

🌊 🦑 🧪 ⚒️

Dr. Dawn Wright @deepseadawn.bsky.social · May 11

Despite covering 66% of Earth's surface, the DEEP ocean remains largely unexplored. @katycroffbell.bsky.social et al. are the first to document that, in decades of deep-sea exploration, humans have observed less than 0.001% of the deep seafloor!!!
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

How little we’ve seen: A visual coverage estimate of the deep seafloor

In decades of deep-sea exploration, humans have observed only 0.001% of the deep seafloor, leaving 66% of planet Earth unseen.

www.science.org

1 12 40

Reposted by Dr Joanne Boden

Saganism @sagan.bsky.social · May 7

Brian Cox ~ The purpose of life?

190 950 5.1K

Reposted by Dr Joanne Boden

Michelle Gehringer @geomibi.bsky.social · May 8

Setting up my Bluesky after deciding to venture into the chatty platforms again :-) Here a post from early march summarising our last research on nitrogen on early Earth.
rptu.de/newsroom/neu...

Wie entstand Leben auf der frühen Erde? Neue Stickstoffquelle entdeckt

Forschende unter Beteiligung der RPTU entschlüsseln Rätsel einer längst vergangenen Zeit: Im Rahmen von aktuellen Studien untersuchen sie, wie sich Leben auf der frühen Erde entwickelt haben könnte. D...

rptu.de

2 5

Reposted by Dr Joanne Boden

Emily Hunt @emily.space · May 8

One thing I wasn't ready for as a postdoc is how much the talks you give need to change. 😅

I think a good colloquium talk takes a lot of practice to get right, and it's so much more about presenting a "big picture" than just e.g. a paper you wrote/are writing.

It's so hard to get right! 🔭☄️🧪

4 3 58

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · May 6

Proud to be adding a biologist's angle to the research on ancient Earth that is going on here!

St Andrews Earth & Environmental Sciences @earthscista.bsky.social · May 2

Hello Bluesky! 👋

We're the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences @uniofstandrews.bsky.social. Our research spans the formation of planets to climate change. Our teaching is consistently ranked among the top in the UK for Earth Sciences 🌍🪐🌋🌡️

Find out more: www.st-andrews.ac.uk/earth-scienc...

A sunny summer view of St Andrews looking across East Sands, with the tide out.

1 1

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · Apr 22

Thanks Janet! No we don't have any plans to, but maybe one day in the future if we can get funding!

1

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · Mar 25

#6 Thank you to the wonderful collaborators Drs Eva Stueeken, Rika Anderson, Sanjoy Som and William Brazelton who made this possible

1

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · Mar 25

#5 More info. here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Evaluating Serpentinization as a Source of Phosphite to Microbial Communities in Hydrothermal Vents

Previous studies have documented the presence of phosphite, a reduced and highly soluble form of phosphorus, in serpentinites, which has led to the hypothesis that serpentinizing hydrothermal vents c...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · Mar 25

#4 Therefore, phosphite from serpentinizing vents could have supported microbial growth around olivine minerals in chimney walls, but it is unlikely to have fueled substantial primary productivity in diffusely venting fluids during life's early evolution

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · Mar 25

#3 We also ran geochemical models made to simulate the chemical reactions which occur in serpentinizing vents and found that little phosphite can be produced, and to generate any at all requires precise temperatures, lithologies and water:rock ratios

Dr Joanne Boden @earlylife.bsky.social · Mar 25

#2 By looking at the relative abundances of genes to access phosphate, phosphite and phosphonates in microbial communities inhabiting 7 serpentinizing hydrothermal vents, we found evidence to suggest that phosphate is a more important phosphorus source for life than phosphite