[physics.app-ph] The detection of organics and potential biomolecules is an important goal of planetary science and astrobiology spacecraft missions, and many types of analytical chemistry for studying organics depend upon […]
amino acids
Posted inCryobiology
How High-pressure Ices On Large Ocean Worlds Can Support Habitability: The Compatibility Of Amino Acids Into Ice VI And VII
[Science Advances] Water oceans in large icy moons and exoplanets are isolated from the rocky interior by thick layers of high-pressure ice, which hinder the direct release of nutrients and […]
![From interstellar molecules to biomolecules. [astro-ph.IM]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Frontiers.png?resize=1200%2C701&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry
Frontiers Of Chemical Complexity In The Interstellar Medium: Unveiling The Cosmic Origins Of life
[astro-ph.IM] The interstellar medium (ISM) contains a rich molecular inventory that provides a unique window into the chemistry operating during star and planet formation and its connection to prebiotic chemistry.
Posted inAstrochemistry
VUV And mid-UV Photoabsorption Cross Sections Of Thin Films Of Glycine And Alanine: Application To Their Photochemistry In The Solar System
[Photochemistry and Photobiology] Experiments conducted in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) since the 1990s have investigated the evolution of organic matter in solid-phase (including amino acids) under solar photon irradiation to […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Nonequilibrium Formation of C4 Carbonyls in Interstellar Ices Linked to Amino Acids
[ACS Central Science] Complex organic molecules in interstellar ices and carbonaceous asteroids record key steps in the chemical evolution toward life, yet the origin of branched carbonyl compounds a fundamental […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Prebiotic Peptide Formation Triggered By Urea-rich Warm Little Ponds On Early Earth
[Bioorganic Chemistry]. In the study of the origin of life, the polymerization of amino acids into peptides in water faces significant thermodynamic barriers, often referred to as the “water problem.”
Posted inAstrochemistry
An Interstellar Energetic And Non-aqueous Pathway To Peptide Formation
[astro-ph.SR] The origin of the molecular building blocks of life is a central question in science. A few α-amino acids such as glycine, the simplest proteinogenic amino acid, have been […]
Posted inAstrochemistry
Photodynamics Of Amino Acids Under UV Excitation: Extraterrestrial Amino Acids
[J. Chem. Phys.] The detection of amino acids in extraterrestrial environments has important implications for astrobiology and prebiotic chemistry, yet the pathways to their syntheses and their photostability under such […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
The Evolution Of The First Code
Background/Objectives: tRNAs, tRNAomes, aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARSs), the first proteins, ribosomes and the genetic code coevolved. We utilize sequence data to reconstruct key steps in establishing the first code on Earth.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report
Stereoselective Phosphorylation of d-Ribose as a Driver of Life’s Homochirality
Life demonstrates remarkable homochirality of its major building blocks: nucleic acids, amino acids, sugars, and phospholipids. Phospholipid bilayer vesicles (liposomes) are formed at the water/air interface from Langmuir layers and […]