In a cutting-edge laboratory at Aarhus University and at an international European facility in Hungary (HUN-REN Atomki), researchers Sergio Ioppolo and Alfred Thomas Hopkinson conduct pioneering experiments.
amino acids
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report
Entropy-Driven Amino Acid-Based Coacervates with Enzyme-Free Metabolism and Prebiotic Robustness
Protocells capable of nonenzymatic metabolism and environmental adaptation are essential models for understanding the emergence of cellular life.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
The Emergence Of Prebiotic Chemistry In The Interstellar Medium (ISM)
Contrary to popular belief, the interstellar medium (ISM) is not empty; it is filled with atoms, dust particles, and molecules.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
All Life Copies DNA Unambiguously Into Proteins. Archaea May Be The Exception.
The beauty of the DNA code is that organisms interpret it unambiguously. Each three-letter nucleotide sequence, or codon, in a gene codes for a unique amino acid that’s added to […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Prebiotically Plausible Peptides Can Self-assemble Into β-rich Nanostructures
Modern proteins are remarkable polymers built from a 20-amino-acid alphabet, shaped by billions of years of evolution. Yet in Earth’s prebiotic era, several amino acids – particularly the canonical basic […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Ancient Amino Acid Sets Enable Stable Protein Folds
Early proteins likely arose from a chemically limited set of amino acids available through prebiotic chemistry, raising a central question in molecular evolution: could such primitive compositions yield stable, functional […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
SynBio: A Ring Has Been Added Onto Existing Ribosome Proteins
Inside our cells, ribosomes-the tireless “protein factories” of life-have just shown off a new skill they haven’t used in billions of years.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Ice Mixed With Amino Acids Stores Methane In Minutes
If you have ever cooked on a gas stove or seen a flame flicker to life with the turn of a knob, you have seen natural gas in action. Supplying […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
New Study Reveals Why Nature Picked Today’s Proteins
Why did life on Earth choose alpha amino acids as the building blocks of proteins? A new study suggests the answer lies in the stability of their inter-molecular interactions.
Posted inBiophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Simultaneous Synthesis Of All 21 Types Of tRNA In Vitro
Collaborative research by the University of Tokyo and RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research has led to the development of a new method for simultaneously synthesizing all transfer RNA (tRNA) […]