Autocatalysis Archives - Astrobiology

How Fluctuations Control Chiral Symmetry Breaking

How Fluctuations Control Chiral Symmetry Breaking in Reacting Mixtures of Chiral Molecules

by Keith CowingOctober 23, 2026October 23, 2026

[cond-mat.soft] The pronounced chiral asymmetry of biomolecules is a defining feature of living systems, yet the mechanisms by which such asymmetry emerged remain unresolved. Chiral symmetry breaking may have occurred […]

Life Emerges On Early Earth -- Grok via Astrobiology.com

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Showing The Math For Earth’s First — And Sudden — Spark Of Life

by Keith CowingMay 3, 2026May 3, 2026

Isolating the first spark of life on Earth is a matter of biology, geology, and chemistry — but it’s also an amazing math problem. At least, that’s how Varun Varanasi […]

Template-based cleavage and condensation. (Top) cleavage. The catalyst contains an active site (shown as colored monomers, and highlighted by the ochre box) and a designated cleavage position (the vertical red line). A molecule is treated as a reactant when a segment within it is complementary to the catalyst’s active site; once this match is found, the molecule is split (the break is highlighted in the figure by a small “explosion”) at the cut position. (Bottom) condensation. The catalyst again features an active site and a suture position. A molecule qualifies as the first reactant if its ending segment complements the first portion of the active site, and another molecule serves as the second reactant if its starting segment complements the second portion of the active site. -- Entropy

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Template-Based Catalysis and the Emergence of Collectively Autocatalytic SystemsEntropy

by Keith CowingMarch 8, 2026March 8, 2026

Mathematical and computational models, which have been successfully used in various fields of biology, are particularly relevant in studies on the origin of life, where wet experiments have not yet […]

Artist’s impression of RNA. Image credit: Vossman/Wikipedia Commons via NASA

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Prebiotic Resource Constraints And The Origin Of Life: A Linear Logic Framework

by Keith CowingMarch 4, 2026March 4, 2026

The origin of life is a complex scientific problem demanding interdisciplinary approaches. We propose a Linear Logic (LL)-based computational framework to formally evaluate the feasibility of early biochemical pathways across […]

ACE

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

ACEs In Spaces: Autocatalytic Chemical Ecosystems In Spatial Settings

by Keith CowingJanuary 14, 2023January 14, 2023

Autocatalysis is thought to have played an important role in the earliest stages of the origin of life. An autocatalytic cycle’s (AC) constituent chemicals can collectively catalyze their own recreation.