Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have found a compound that may have been a crucial factor in the origins of life on Earth. Origins-of-life researchers have hypothesized that […]
biochemistry
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Press Release
Study of Enzymatic Chemical Reactions May Indicate How the First Cells Formed Colonies
A novel investigation of how enzymatic reactions can direct the motion and organization of microcapsules may point toward a new theory of how protocells – the earliest biological cells – […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Press Release
Oldest Known Redox Gradient Discovered
By analyzing iron isotopes against the uranium content in the jasper rock from the ancient ocean of the Barberton Greenstone Belt in South Africa, scientists have found a defined vertical […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Press Release
Studying Metabolism in Mixed Cultures
Studying Carbon-13 (13C) metabolism in a microbial community can be a time-consuming and tricky prospect. This is because scientists often have to separate a single species out of the mix […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
The Astrobiological Periodic Table
The Astrobiological Periodic Table has been developed by astrobiologist Charles Cockell. This is the preliminary first version. A second, more advanced version is in development. Larger version.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Making Organic Molecules in Hydrothermal Vents in the Absence of Life
In 2009, scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution embarked on a NASA-funded mission to the Mid-Cayman Rise in the Caribbean, in search of a type of deep-sea hot-spring or hydrothermal […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Status Report
Amino Acids in Chondrites
Many theories about the origins of life involve the delivery of organic molecules to the early Earth by objects from space. Previously, scientists have identified amino acids in carbon-rich meteorites. […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors
Martian Salts Must Touch Ice to Make Liquid Water, Study Shows
In chambers that mimic Mars’ conditions, University of Michigan researchers have shown how small amounts of liquid water could form on the planet despite its below-freezing temperatures.
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
Making Unnatural Amino Acids
Chemists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have devised a greatly improved technique for making amino acids not found in nature. These “unnatural” amino acids traditionally have been very difficult […]
Posted inBiophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release
The Antiquity of Metalloenzymes
Astrobiologists funded in part by the NASA Astrobiology Institute have uncovered new information about the role of metalloenzymes in the origins of life. Metalloenzymes are enzymes where metals act as […]