biophysics Archives

Graphical abstract -- Nature Communications

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

What Gave The First Molecules Their Stability?

by Keith CowingAugust 9, 2024

The origins of life remain a major mystery. How were complex molecules able to form and remain intact for prolonged periods without disintegrating? A team at ORIGINS, a Munich-based Cluster […]

The Mulliken charge on each monomer is indicated, showing delocalized and localized charge distribution for the DFT/BNL and CASPT2 respectively. The values in parenthesis indicate the time-resolved KER, calculated assuming a 2nd ionization at the different time delays and an ab initio simulation of the Coulombic explosion on the dication ground-state. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. -- Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Press Release

Astrochemistry: Unexpected Behavior In Dimers of CO2 Molecules After Ionization

by Keith CowingAugust 1, 2024August 1, 2024

An international team of scientists, led by Profs. Daniel Strasser and Roi Baer from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has made an important discovery in molecular physics, revealing unexpected symmetry-breaking […]

A collage of five of the comb jelly species studied. Red coloration as seen in the two specimens at right is common among deep-sea animals. CREDIT 2021 Jacob Winnikoff

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Cryobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Comb Jelly Adaptations To Life At Extreme Pressure

by Keith CowingJuly 14, 2024July 7, 2024

The bottom of the ocean is not hospitable: there is no light; the temperature is freezing cold; and the pressure of all the water above will literally crush you. The […]

SEM image of ADI (7×10-5 M) in water after addition of EG (EG /water (molar ratio) = 0.1%) at 117K. -- Angewandte Chemie

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Icy Worlds, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Prebiotic Chemistry: New Probe Reveals Water-ice Microstructures

by Keith CowingJuly 7, 2024July 6, 2024

Ice is believed to have played a crucial role in the emergence of life. One reason is that organic molecules can be excluded into the gaps between the crystal lattice […]

E) Barite and amorphous silica-rich chimney at Nidhogg venting edifice, densely populated by amphipods.

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Newly Discovered Hydrothermal Vents At Depths Of 3,000 Meters Off Svalbard

by Keith CowingJuly 1, 2024July 1, 2024

Hydrothermal vents are seeps on the sea floor from which hot liquids escape. “Water penetrates into the ocean floor where it is heated by magma. The overheated water then rises […]

Representation of ONIOM approach used to compute the adsorption energy of benzene on an ice surface model. Each component of the energy expression at the top is decomposed into up to three calculations: two periodic DFT calculations (full system and model) and one DLPNO-CCSD(T) calculation (model). The full system optimised at the PBE-D3/MOLOPT-TZV2P is shown at the top of each panel. Note that the benzene component is simply computed directly at the DLPNO-CCSD(T)/CBS level using an optimised PBE-D3/MOLOPT-TZV2P geometry. PBE-D3 calculations are indicated using a green colour and the DLPNO-CCSD(T) calculations using a purple colour. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report

Hybrid Approach Predicts A Lower Binding Energy For Benzene On Water Ice

by Keith CowingJune 28, 2024June 28, 2024

In this paper we provide a highly accurate value for the binding energy of benzene to proton-ordered crystalline water ice (XIh), as a model for interstellar ices.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report

Open-Ended Versus Bounded Evolution: Mineral Evolution As A Case Study

by Keith CowingJune 26, 2024June 26, 2024

To what extent are natural evolving systems limited in their potential diversity (i.e., “bounded”) versus unrestricted (“open-ended”)? Minerals provide a quantitative model evolving system, with well documented increases in mineral […]

Replication at the gas-water interface. We considered a geological scenario in which water, containing biomolecules, is evaporated by a gas flow at the scale of millimeters. In volcanic porous rock, many of such settings can be imagined. The gas flow induces convective water currents and causes it to evaporate. Dissolved nucleic acids and salts accumulate at the gas-water interface due to the interfacial currents, even if the influx from below is pure water. Through the induced vortex, nucleic acids pass through different concentrations of salt, promoting strand separation and allowing them to replicate exponentially. Our experiments replicate this environment on the microscale, subjecting a defined sample volume to a continuous influx of pure water with an airflux brushing across. -- biorxiv.org

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Prebiotic Gas Flow Environment Enables Isothermal Nucleic Acid Replication

by Keith CowingJune 19, 2024June 19, 2024

Nucleic acid replication is a central process at the origin of life. On early Earth, replication is challenged by the dilution of molecular building blocks and the difficulty of separating […]

Root causes of stress under extreme conditions. There are several essential cellular functions that are frequently the proximal cause of disruption in extreme conditions (A). When an essential function is disrupted, it can lead to disruption of other essential functions, resulting in a cascade of failure (B). Resistance mechanisms can protect against multiple extremes with the same root cause (C), and stressors with opposite root causes can be easier to tolerate together than separately (D). -- Frontiers In Microbiology

Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report

Polyextremophile Engineering: A Review Of Organisms That Push The Limits Of Life

by Keith CowingJune 7, 2024June 7, 2024

Nature exhibits an enormous diversity of organisms that thrive in extreme environments. From snow algae that reproduce at sub-zero temperatures to radiotrophic fungi that thrive in nuclear radiation at Chernobyl, […]