Following biology: the rebirth of the Russian muskrat and life in a meteorite

MSU researchers have announced possible traces of ancient life in a meteorite more than 4.6 billion years old, Skoltech and Kurchatov Institute specialists have come closer to creating new antibiotics against superbugs, and geneticists have deciphered the genome of the rarest mammal, the Russian muskrat. Meanwhile, astronomers have discovered the first comet of 2026, and China has announced plans to launch deliveries of flying cars this year. These science and technology news of the past week can be found in the Izvestia article.

MSU scientists have discovered "traces of life" in a meteorite

Lomonosov Moscow State University scientists have announced the discovery of material of the oldest biogenic origin in the Kainsaz meteorite, which fell to Earth in 1937 on the territory of Tatarstan. The discovery made during the study of the microstructure of a meteorite body can significantly expand the understanding of the origin of life in the universe. According to the researchers, the age of the discovered microfossils (fossilized remains) exceeds 4.6 billion years. This makes them one of the most ancient evidences of the existence of life known to date.

Microstructure of the Kainsaz meteorite

Photo: MSU

According to scientists, the discovery is of crucial importance for astrobiology and the study of the evolution of life. It suggests that life could have originated not only on Earth, but also in other regions of the Solar system, and possibly beyond. The results of the study also strengthen the position of the theory of panspermia, according to which life could have been brought to our planet from space.

— The novelty of this study lies in the fact that such structures have been discovered in Kainsase for the first time. And there is a high probability that a deeper study of the meteorite will open up new opportunities for understanding fundamental questions about the origin and development of life in the universe," Mikhail Vinnik, a leading researcher at the Moscow State University Museum of Earth Sciences, told Izvestia.

In the body itself: scientists have discovered "traces of life" in a meteorite from the last century

Will the researchers' discovery answer the question of whether we are alone in the universe?

The unique effect of a "forgotten" antibiotic

Skoltech specialists, together with employees of the Kurchatov Institute, discovered the mechanism of action of the antibiotic bottromycin A2. This substance was first synthesized back in 1957 in Germany and has shown the ability to kill those pathogens against which other drugs were powerless. But in its original form, the molecule was unstable in the blood, so it was not possible to make a full-fledged medicine out of it.

To solve this problem, the compound could be modified, but scientists did not fully understand exactly how it affects bacteria, so they could not complete the work. The data obtained now opens the way to the creation of a drug against resistant strains of microbes, as well as a whole class of new antibiotics with a similar mechanism of action.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Eduard Kornienko

It turned out that bottromycin A2 harms bacteria in an unusual way. Proteins in a cell are formed from amino acids by the ribosome. Other antibiotics interact with it, thereby disrupting protein synthesis, but bottromycin A2 binds not to the ribosome itself, but to the transporter of one specific amino acid, glycine. Thus, the delivery of the necessary building material of proteins to the assembly apparatus is disrupted, as a result of which the vital processes of the pathogenic bacterial cell are disrupted.

"Our study has demonstrated that bottromycin A2 has a unique mechanism for inhibiting protein synthesis: it selectively blocks translation only in cases where glycine incorporation is required. This discovery not only expands fundamental ideas about the interaction of antibiotics with bacterial cells, but also provides new prospects for the development of antimicrobial drugs with a targeted mechanism of action," said Elena Polesskova, senior researcher at the Department of Molecular and Radiation Biophysics at the Kurchatov Institute — PIAF.

Decoding the genome of the Russian muskrat

Scientists from Russia and Uzbekistan have performed high-quality decoding of the Russian muskrat genome for the first time. These are rare and secretive mammals that live in reservoirs mainly in the European part of Russia.

As experts explained, the species is on the verge of extinction. And the information received can become the basis for taking measures to revive it.

Photo: Getty Images/Peter Mueller

Scientists from the European University in St. Petersburg, Lomonosov Moscow State University, the Center for Advanced Technologies of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan and a number of Russian research organizations took part in the work.

— Russian muskrats are a relic species. They appeared on Earth about 35-40 million years ago and have remained virtually unchanged in the course of evolution. One of the tasks of the scientific work was to understand why these animals, contemporaries of mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses, successfully survived the Ice Age, but now they are facing the threat of extinction," Artyom Nedoluzhko, scientific director of the EUSP Paleogenomics laboratory, shared with Izvestia.

Who has a fireball for what: scientists have revealed the secrets of a meteorite that flew over Moscow

How will the found fragments help to gain new fundamental knowledge?

The first comet was discovered in 2026

A comet named C/2026 A1 (MAPS) was discovered by scientists this year, as reported by the Laboratory of Solar Astronomy of the IKI RAS and the ISSF SB RAS. This is the first comet of 2026 officially registered by the International Astronomical Union.

Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexander Kryazhev

— According to calculations, C/2026 A1 will end its life on April 4 of this year, when it falls into the Sun. A celestial body formed billions of years ago at the dawn of the Solar system has 73 days to live, the report says.

Scientists have noted that the comet is located at a distance of 200 million km from Earth and 300 million km from the Sun. It is assumed that C/2026 A1 is a fragment of the Great Comet of 1106, which was observed almost 1,000 years ago as a white giant star with a tail, which was recorded in the manuscripts of Great Britain, China and Japan.

China announced the launch of deliveries of flying cars

China has become one of the first countries where passenger flights on flying cars may soon switch from a concept to a real transport service. The country's manufacturers plan to start supplying electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft as early as this year.

Photo: IZVESTIA/Sergey Lantyukhov

At least seven Chinese manufacturers are planning to sell eVTOL supplies by the end of 2026. We are talking about aircraft designed to carry passengers in commercial mode in airspace at an altitude of up to 1,000 m, which in China belongs to the category of civil flights.

An additional growth factor was the willingness of regional authorities to ease restrictions on low-altitude flights. In particular, relevant measures are being worked out in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chongqing. This should create conditions for launching regular passenger routes.