hoping the good weather sticks around with @protosignslab.bsky.social

great day for a shake-down hike to make sure all the field gear is working.

It was a joy to contribute to this paper led by @sandyheth.bsky.social, Corentin Loron and Laura Cooper. We show the Devonian fossil, Prototaxites, is not a fungus but is in fact an organism from an as yet unknown extinct eukaryotic lineage. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... @dcu-lsi.bsky.social

Prototaxites fossils are structurally and chemically distinct from extinct and extant Fungi

Prototaxites fossils are distinct from Fungi, suggesting that they represent an extinct lineage of eukaryotic life.

science.org

From ProtoSigns Lab in The Conversation this week – 'Could life exist on Mars today?' Devyani Jambhule took the lead here – excellent from an early stage PhD student 👏 @protosignslab.bsky.social @theconversation.com @dcu-lsi.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @researchireland.ie

Dublin City University@dublincityuni.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Could life exist on Mars today? Here’s what the latest evidence says. Piece by DCU's Dr Seán Jordan @seanfj.bsky.social and Devyani Jambhule for @uk.theconversation.com. Read more here: launch.dcu.ie/4o8kgOC

Dr Seán Jordan @seanfj.bsky.social: Was there ancient life on Mars? My DCU team are doing our bit to assess Nasa’s latest discovery. Read more in @independent.ie: launch.dcu.ie/4nxR17w #DCUResearch

I wrote some thoughts on NASA's most recent announcement about 'potential biosignatures' on Mars in the Irish Independent today: www.independent.ie/irish-news/d... @protosignslab.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @researchireland.ie @dcu-lsi.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social

Dr Seán Jordan: Was there ancient life on Mars? My DCU team are doing our bit to assess Nasa’s latest discovery

On Wednesday, Nasa announced that the Perseverance rover had identified potential biosignatures – signs of ancient life – on Mars.

independent.ie

On the show today: Phil Jupitus; Shrekking; @seanfj.bsky.social on possible life on Mars; The world jigsaw championships; Showbiz news; velvet red wines; @toxicolly.bsky.social reviews 'Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues' & 'The Wrong Paris'...

Interested in moving/establishing your research group in Ireland? www.researchireland.ie/funding/glob... I'd love to see more #originoflife #astrobiology researchers join us here! Feel free to contact me directly to discuss! @abgradcon.bsky.social @oolen.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social

Thank you to @oolen.bsky.social for inviting me to give a keynote on progressing from Postdoc to PI in Iceland! I met so many promising ECRs! Scouted some fieldwork locations while I was there too so can't wait to return for sampling! @erc.europa.eu @researchireland.ie @dcuresearch.bsky.social

I had lots of fun recording this Documentary Special from @newstalkfm.bsky.social @jonathanmccrea.bsky.social: 'Is There Anybody Out There' www.newstalk.com/podcasts/fut... @protosignslab.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social @dublincityuni.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @researchireland.ie

Documentary Special: “Is There Anybody Out There?” | Newstalk

Are we alone in the universe? Could there be other civilisations out there that we could possibly...

newstalk.com

🎊We are very pleased to announce that our paper investigating what we think Prototaxites, the mysterious giant of the Devonian landscape, actually was is now available as a pre-print on @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

What a team!

ProtoSigns Lab@protosignslab.bsky.social · 2y ago

Happy birthday to our fantastic PI @seanfj.bsky.social. Wishing you a great day and a fantastic year ahead. 🎉🥳🎂

Meet our team! This is PI @seanfj.bsky.social 👨‍🔬🤿🏃

📢 PhD Opportunity Alert! 🌍🔬 Join the ProtoSigns Lab to explore novel biosignatures for microfossil interpretation! Fully-funded 4-year PhD with fieldwork, cutting-edge facilities & interdisciplinary training. 🔗 Apply by 31 Jan 2025 Full details: euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/302167

Reminder of the January 8th deadline for this reef palaeoecology PhD project at @sotonoceanearth.bsky.social with @tomezard.bsky.social + @chrisgoatley.bsky.social :) www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Come and join our team here at the ProtoSigns Lab in DCU as part of our ERC funded project! We're making some really exciting discoveries around protocell membrane formation with implications for the origin of life and the search for life elsewhere in our solar system! #originoflife #modeling

ProtoSigns Lab@protosignslab.bsky.social · 2y ago

Postdoc position available in our lab in DCU! We’re looking for a computational modeller passionate about protocell membranes, origins of life, and biosignature detection to join our ERC funded project. 🧬💻 Full job details and apply here: universityvacancies.com/dublin-city-... #OriginsOfLife