A famous experiment in 1953 showed that amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, could have formed spontaneously under the atmospheric conditions of early Earth. However, just because molecules could […]
Origin & Evolution of Life
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Pre-life Building Blocks Spontaneously Align In Evolutionary Experiment
When Earth was a lifeless planet about 4 billion years ago, chemical components came together in tiny molecular chains that would later evolve into proteins, crucial life building blocks. A […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Anoxygenic Photosynthesis And The Delayed Oxygenation Of Earth's Atmosphere
The emergence of oxygenic photosynthesis created a new niche with dramatic potential to transform energy flow through Earth’s biosphere. However, more primitive forms of photosynthesis that fix CO2 into biomass […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Origin Of Life: The Importance Of Interfaces
Tiny gas-filled bubbles in the porous rock found around hot springs are thought to have played an important role in the origin of life. Temperature differences at the interface between […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Strange Bacteria Hint At Ancient Origin Of Photosynthesis
Structures inside rare bacteria are similar to those that power photosynthesis in plants today, suggesting the process is older than assumed. The finding could mean the evolution of photosynthesis needs […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Electricity-driven Undersea Reactions May Have Been Important For The Emergence Of Life
Though it remains unknown how life began, there is a community of scientists who suspect it occurred in or around deep sea hydrothermal environments. At such sites, water heated by […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Shape Shifting Protocells Hint At The Mechanics Of Early Life
Inspired by the processes of cellular differentiation observed in developmental biology, an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Bristol have demonstrated a new spontaneous approach to building communities […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
New Chemistry May Help Explain The Origins Of Cellular Life
Before life began on Earth, the environment likely contained a massive number of chemicals that reacted with each other more or less randomly, and it is unclear how things as […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Origin Of Life Insight: Peptides Can Form Without Amino Acids
Peptides, one of the fundamental building blocks of life, can be formed from the primitive precursors of amino acids under conditions similar to those expected on the primordial Earth, finds […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Key Early Steps For Origin of Life Occur Under a Variety of Conditions
Potential precursors to life on Earth form from a variety of complex mixtures, according to a team of scientists who say this could point to the development of building blocks […]