need for interdisciplinary studies is underscored by peat compositional properties, which have been greatly affected by various processes during the syngenetic, diagenetic or epigenetic stages of coal formation.

DasSarma, S., DasSarma, P., Laye, V.J., Schwieterman, E.W., 2020. Extremophilic models for astrobiology: haloarchaeal survival strategies and pigments for remote sensing. Extremophiles 24, 31-41.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-019-01126-3 Recent progress in extremophile biology, exploration of planetary bodies in the solar system, and the detection and characterization of extrasolar planets are leading to new insights in the field of astrobiology and possible distribution of life in the universe. Among the many extremophiles on Earth, the halophilic Archaea (Haloarchaea) are especially attractive models for astrobiology, being evolutionarily ancient and physiologically versatile, potentially surviving in a variety of planetary environments and with relevance for in situ life detection. Haloarchaea are polyextremophilic with tolerance of saturating salinity, anaerobic conditions, high levels of ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, subzero temperatures, desiccation, and toxic ions. Haloarchaea s urvive launches into Earth's stratosphere encountering conditions similar to those found on the surface of Mars. Studies of their unique proteins are revealing mechanisms permitting activity and function in high ionic strength, perchlorates, and subzero temperatures. Haloarchaea also produce spectacular blooms visible from space due to synthesis of red - orange isoprenoid carotenoids used for photoprotection and photorepair processes and purple retinal chromoproteins for phototrophy and phototaxis. Remote sensing using visible and infrared spectroscopy has shown that haloarchaeal pigments exhibit both a discernable peak of absorption and a reflective 'green edge'. Since the pigments produce remotely detectable features, they may influence the spectrum from an inhabited exoplanet imaged by a future large space-based telescope. In this review, we focus Halobacterium Halorubrum lacusprofundi primarily on studies of two Haloarchaea, sp. NRC-1 and .

de Carvalho, J.C., Magalhães, A.I., de Melo Pereira, G.V., Medeiros, A.B.P., Sydney, E.B., Rodrigues, C., Aulestia, D.T.M., de Souza Vandenberghe, L.P., Soccol, V.T., Soccol, C.R., 2020. Microalgal biomass pretreatment for integrated processing into biofuels, food, and feed. Bioresource Technology 300, 122719.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960852419319480 Microalgae are sources of nutritional products and biofuels. However, their economical processing is challenging, because of (i) the inherently low concentration of biomass in algal cultures, below 0.5%, (ii) the high-water content in the harvested biomass, above 70%; and (iii) the variable intracellular content and Dunaliella composition. Cell wall structure and strength vary enormously among microalgae, from naked cells Haematococcus to robust cysts. High-value products justify using fast and energy-intensive processes, ranging from 0.23 kWh/kg dry biomass in high-pressure homogenization, to 6 kWh/kg dry biomass in sonication. However, in biofuels production, the energy input must be minimized, requiring slower, thermal or chemical pretreatments. Whichever the primary fraction of interest, the spent biomass can be processed into valuable by- products. This review discusses microalgal cell structure and composition, how it affects pretreatment, focusing on technologies tested for large scale or promising for industrial processes, and how these can be integrated into algal biorefineries.

de Gouw, J.A., Veefkind, J.P., Roosenbrand, E., Dix, B., Lin, J.C., Landgraf, J., Levelt, P.F., 2020. Daily satellite observations of methane from oil and gas production regions in the United States. Scientific Reports 10, 1379.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-57678-4 Production of oil and natural gas in North America is at an all-time high due to the development and use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Methane emissions associated with this industrial activity are a concern because of the contribution to climate radiative forcing. We present new measurements from the space- based TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) launched in 2017 that show methane enhancements over production regions in the United States. In the Uintah Basin in Utah, TROPOMI methane columns correlated with in-situ measurements, and the highest columns were observed over the deepest parts of the