Geobiology is an interdisciplinary field of research that explores the interaction between the biosphere and the geosphere and/or the atmosphere. It involves researchers from numerous fields such as paleontology, microbiology, mineralogy, geochemistry, biochemistry, sedimentology and genetics. Geobiological research cover a wide range of areas like, for example, the origin and evolution of life, environmental microbiology, microbe-mineral interactions, molecular ecology and detection of biomarkers. It is responsible for at least two major subdisciplines: geomicrobiology (the study of microbe-mineral interactions) and astrobiology (a discipline focused on the conditions for life in the universe, including the search for life on other planets).