Betül Kaçar

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/s4146…

Thanks @NASA for supporting our work and for this wonderful press release on the study: science.nasa.gov/science-resear… #astrobiology #originsoflife

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/s4146… @NASA

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-b…

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.

@bilgeMolEcol Harikasin! Tebrikler!🌟

@betulland Betul Hocam, ben o bahsettigim start up'u kurdum, Amerika hukumetinden takdir belgesi, Hong Kong'da surdurulebilirlik odulu aldik, 20 kisilik ekip kurdum, $100k fon aldik. Simdi oradan ayriliyor olsam da, iki ayri sirket daha kurdum ve artik bir CEO'yum. Guncellemek istedim. :)

Always happy to meet a talented, up-and-coming future CEO and scientist. Keep at it! 💫

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

@FizikHaber Thanks!

Congrats to all the authors.

@KellyDobitz @NASA Thank you, Kelly!

@betulland @NASA Amazing work! Congrats!

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/s4146…

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-resear…

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-…

Resurrected Ancient Enzyme Offers New Window Into Early Earth And The Search For Life Beyond It astrobiology.com/2026/01/resurr… #astrobiology #genomics @betulland @KacarLab

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.

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.

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=J2k3w5…

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

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/ae…

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