Short Course Presentations
Karen Lloyd Univ. of Tennessee	Microbial Energy Sources and Subsurface Life (.pdf)
Frank Corsetti USC	Proof of Microbial Life: Geobiology in Planetary Analog Systems (.pdf)
Christine Foreman Montana State Univ.	Extreme Environment Microbiology in Ices (.pdf)
Martin Homann Univ. College London	Understanding Astrobiological False Positives from Terrestrial Microbiology (.pdf)

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Program:

Lecture 1 – "Microbial Energy Sources and Subsurface Life" – Karen Lloyd

Goal: To highlight the nutrients and potential metabolic processes of subsurface microbiology.

• What are the typical nutrient sources for microbial life?
• Within subsurface regolith settings what has been the best methods of preservation?
• What has been an example of a successful determination of biogenicity in the rock and mineral record?

Lecture 2 – "Proof of Microbial Life: Geobiology in Planetary Analog Systems" – Frank Corsetti

Goal: To quantify multiple lines of evidence for physical biosignatures with biological references in the geologic record.

• What are the metrics of biogenicity that build confidence in preservation of biology?
• How can geobiology in the terrestrial rock record help inform future astrobiology measurements?
• What are the pitfalls of false positives that have been misinterpreted that we can learn from?

Lecture 3 – "Extreme Environment Microbiology in Ices" – Christine Foreman

Goal: To quantify the degree of biogenicity from microorganisms and habitats in frozen environments.

• How can the survivability of microbial communities in ice help guide proper life detection experiments?
• What has impacted and improved the degree of biogenic and biotic preservation in frozen settings?
• What are the best practices for a design of experiments for assessing cellular communities in ices?

Lecture 4 – "Understanding Astrobiological False Positives from Terrestrial Microbiology" – Martin Homann

Goal: To highlight the rock record preservation of biogenic information and to determine how to avoid false positives.

• What lines of evidence provide the clearest validation of ancient biology in the record?
• What sample lithologies and accompanying micriobiological techniques should we use for terrestrial life detection?
• How can we use the lessons learned from terrestrial geobiology to help us design a planetary design of experiments?