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Project Reports

• The Planetary Context of Biological Evolution: Research on Terminal Proterozoic Evolution and the Coevolution of Life and Environments

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 5.0 6.0 8.0

• Education and Public Outreach Activities

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0 6.0 7.0 10.0

• Ghadiri’s Laboratory

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 3.0 4.0

• Exploring the Living Universe: Origin, Evolution and Distribution of Life in the Solar System

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 12.0

• Astrobiology at UCLA: An Integrated Multidisciplinary Approach to Research and Education

  RESEARCH at UCLA is now focused on six main themes: (1) extrasolar planetary systems; (2) geobiology and geochemistry of early Earth and Mars; (3) evolution of Earth’s early life; (4) genomic evolution and the tree of life; (5) celestial influences on the terrestrial environment; and (6) exploration for life in the Solar System. Over the past year, some of these themes have grown significantly; the thrust of the last has been seriously compromised by the successive losses of both the Mars Climate Orbiter and the Mars Polar Lander.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0

• Eukaryote Origins and the Evolution of Cellular Complexity – Eukaryotic rRNA Evolution

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0 6.0 7.0

• Molecular Paleontology and the Stratigraphic Record

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 5.0

• Eukaryote Origins and the Evolution of Cellular Complexity – Evolution of Tubulins

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0

• Ancestry of the Earliest Proteins

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0

• Molecular Analysis of Microbial Ecosystems in Extreme Environments

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 14.0 16.0 17.0

• Relationship of Genetic Changes to Phenotypic Changes in Organism — Environment Interactions

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0

• Biochemistry of Physhrophilic Organisms

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0

• Diversity of Eukaryotes in Thermophilic and Mesophilic Environments That Might Resemble Early Earth’s Biosphere

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 6.0 7.0

• Diversity and Physiology of Prokaryotes in Selected Thermophilic and Mesophilic Environments That Might Resemble Early Earth’s Biosphere

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 6.0 7.0

• Whole Genome-Based Phylogenetic Analysis of Free-Living Microorganisms

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 5.0

• Paleomicrobiology and the Evolution of Metabolic Pathways in the Archaean Environment.

  The project has two parts. First, ancient microfossils preserved in cherts are being studied with an ion microprobe allowing the analysis of the carbon isotopic composition of individual microfossils. Second, the process of carbon isotopic fractionation is being studied in a diverse set of microorganisms. Collectively, the results will constrain the carbon fixation biochemistry of ancient microorganisms.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0

• Eukaryote Biodiversity and Physiology at Acidic Extremes: Spain’s Tinto River

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.0 4.0 6.0 7.0 8.0

• Timescale for the Early Evolution of Life on Earth: Molecular Evolutionary Approach – Hedges

  The overall goal of research in this lab is to develop an accurate timescale for the evolution of life on Earth for comparison with Earth history (rise in oxygen, climate, plate tectonics, etc.). Such a synthesis will help to focus searches for life elsewhere. We use DNA and protein sequence data from the public databases and from sequences generated in the lab.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0 5.0

• Timescale for the Early Evolution of Life on Earth: Molecular Evolutionary Approach – Nei

  The main goal of the research in Task III is to develop statistical methods of estimating the times of origin of the major groups of organisms from molecular data and infer major events of early stages of evolution on Earth using a large amount of sequence data.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.0

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate and the Terrestrial Biosphere: Approaches From Field-Oriented Geochemical Investigations. Causes and Consequences of the Diversification and Extinction of Metazoans: Field, Geochemical and Paleontological Investigations. – Katherine Freeman 1

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.0 4.0 5.0 15.0

• Astrobiology Education and Public Outreach

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0 15.0

• “Alien Hunting” on What’s in the News

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.0 4.0 5.0 7.0 8.0 12.0

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate and the Terrestrial Biosphere: Approaches From Field-Oriented Geochemical Investigations. Causes and Consequences of the Diversification and Extinction of Metazoans: Field, Geochemical and Paleontological Investigations. – Ohmoto 1

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.0 4.0 5.0 15.0

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate and the Terrestrial Biosphere: Approaches From Field-Oriented Geochemical Investigations. Causes and Consequences of the Diversification and Extinction of Metazoans: Field, Geochemical and Paleontological Investigations. – Ohmoto 2

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.0 4.0 5.0 15.0

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate and the Terrestrial Biosphere: Approaches From Field-Oriented Geochemical Investigations. Causes and Consequences of the Diversification and Extinction of Metazoans: Field, Geochemical and Paleontological Investigations. – Ohmoto 3

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.0 4.0 5.0 15.0

• Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate and the Terrestrial Biosphere: Approaches From Field-Oriented Geochemical Investigations. Causes and Consequences of the Diversification and Extinction of Metazoans: Field, Geochemical and Paleontological Investigations. – Katherine Freeman 2

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.0 4.0 5.0 15.0