Scientist. Origins of life, evolution, life beyond Earth. Lead @KacarLab https://xitter.gq/t.co/PgT33UYqrA
Planet Earth
Joined July 2013
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Our new paper, out today! We resurrected an enzyme first used by life on Earth 3 billion years ago. We validated a #biosignature in rocks that helps reveal ancient life on Earth to guide the search for ancient life on other worlds! @NASA #astrobiology
nature.com/articles/s41467-0…
Betül Kaçar retweeted
Meet the survivors of Earth’s worst days -These microbes endured the unlivable. The NASA astrobiologist who studies them reveals what that means for us today bigthink.com/the-well/earths… - Betül Kaçar @betulland #astrobiology
Betül Kaçar retweeted
Synthetic biology is advancing how scientists study early microbial life. Their findings could revolutionize how we think about Earth’s earliest residents—and those that exist today. asm.social/322
Betül Kaçar retweeted
How did life begin? Bacteriology’s Betül Kaçar joined Neil deGrasse Tyson on his podcast, @StarTalkRadio, to explore the beginnings of life on Earth and what it might tell us about life elsewhere. 🌎💫 Watch their conversation: youtu.be/72ugdkB7oQ4?si=FPCF…
Life doesn’t wait for Earth to become “easy.”
Our new study shows that ancient life used rare Earth metals (molybdenum and tungsten) 3 billion years ago, reshaping how we think about metabolism, evolution, and the search for life beyond Earth.
nature.com/articles/s41467-0… @NASA
Thanks @NASA for supporting our work and for this wonderful press release on the study:
science.nasa.gov/science-res… #astrobiology #originsoflife
Betül Kaçar retweeted
More than 3 billion years ago, life appears to have used molybdenum even though Earth’s oceans held only trace amounts of it—complicating the simple “tungsten first, molybdenum later” picture. @NASA @NatureComms phys.org/news/2026-05-billio…
The toughest and arguably the most sacred part of being a scientist is the commitment to see the world for what it is, without the comfort of looking away.
Betül Kaçar retweeted
Scientists just reconstructed an enzyme used by life 3.2 billion years ago, confirming a chemical fingerprint left by ancient microbes. The discovery reveals new clues about Earth’s early biosphere & gives future explorers a reliable sign to search for past life on other worlds. go.nasa.gov/49QiDRl
ALT Predicted 3D ribbon structures of the ancestral nitrogenase DDKK protein complex arranged from oldest to most modern, shown side by side in different colors on a white background. Image credit: University of Wisconsin\u2013Madison/Holly Rucker.
Check out @NASA’s new press release on how we recreated a molecule used by some of Earth’s earliest life forms, helping us understand how life began here and how we might spot signs of life on other planets! Big congrats to first author, Holly Rucker!
science.nasa.gov/science-res…
Betül Kaçar retweeted
Looking for life on other planets means searching for more than what’s here now, but what thrived billions of years ago.
Find out why from astrobiologist @betulland: templeton.org/news/reviving-…
Betül Kaçar retweeted
Resurrected Ancient Enzyme Offers New Window Into Early Earth And The Search For Life Beyond It
astrobiology.com/2026/01/res… #astrobiology #genomics @betulland @KacarLab
Betül Kaçar retweeted
Looking for life on other planets means searching for more than what’s here now, but what thrived billions of years ago.
Find out why from astrobiologist @betulland: templeton.org/news/reviving-…
Life is not discrete. It is fluid and mobile. It will forever defy any measure, and that makes it truly worth studying.
Betül Kaçar retweeted
By studying the way life once endured a frozen, unstable planet, @NASA astrobiologist @betulland is hoping to find clues for how we might face environmental challenges today—and prepare for what’s coming next.
Betül Kaçar retweeted
At Breakthrough Discuss 2025, Betül Kaçar (@UWMadison & @NASA ) explored “Ancient Biological Signatures,” revealing how resurrecting Precambrian enzymes in living cells reveals Earth’s early biosignatures. Her innovative fusion of synthetic biology and ancestral reconstruction advances our understanding of life’s origins and promises new tools for detecting life beyond Earth. Watch talk here: youtu.be/JHVV12V6_bA
Science is a patient act, and the simple desire to understand is one of the most beautiful and powerful parts of being human. Part of my conversation with @bigthink & @templeton_fdn is now online. Hope you enjoy it, stay curious! ✨
youtube.com/watch?v=J2k3w5Mz…
Betül Kaçar retweeted
By bridging molecular, ecological and planetary scales, planetary microbiology illuminates life’s past while critically informing strategies for the environmental and exploration challenges of our future. Read the #AppEnvMicro editorial: asm.social/2CJ
ALT Earth in space
Life remembers.
Planetary microbiology explores how ancient microbial innovations reshaped our planet and continue to guide our search for life on Mars, Europa, and across the cosmos.
Out now, happy reading!
journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128…
By bridging molecular, ecological and planetary scales, planetary microbiology illuminates life’s past while critically informing strategies for the environmental and exploration challenges of our future. Read the #AppEnvMicro editorial: asm.social/2CJ
ALT Earth in space
Betül Kaçar retweeted
In our latest #SETILive #podcast, Dr. Betül Kaçar uses a party metaphor to explain comproportionation and how it provides balance to systems, including propagating molecules. Listen to the full episode: seti.org/seti-live