The RNA World hypothesis predicts that self-replicating RNAs evolved before DNA genomes and coded proteins. Despite widespread support for the RNA World, self-replicating RNAs have yet to be identified in […]
biophysics
Bridging Machine Learning And Cosmological Simulations: Using Neural Operators To Emulate Chemical Evolution
In this work, we explore the potential of machine learning, specifically Neural Operators, to emulate the Grackle chemistry solver, which is widely used in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations.
On the Origin of Information Dynamics in Early Life
We hypothesize that predictable variations in environmental conditions caused by night/day cycles created opportunities and hazards that initiated information dynamics central to life’s origin.
When Did Earth’s Ocean Acidity Allow Life To Commence?
Scientists at Yale and in Singapore have devised what may be the ultimate acid test — a comprehensive model for estimating the origins of Earth’s habitability, based in part on […]
Machinery Behind Bacterial Nanowires Discovered
Almost all living things breathe oxygen to eliminate the excess electrons produced when nutrients are converted into energy. However, most microbes that mitigate pollution and climate change don’t have access […]
Chemical Kinetics As A Window Into Prebiotic Plausibility
Origin of Life research is a fast growing field of study with each year bringing new breakthroughs. Recent discoveries include novel syntheses of life’s building blocks, mechanisms of activation and […]
Phosphates on Mars and Their Importance as Igneous, Aqueous, and Astrobiological Indicators
This paper reviews the phosphate phases in meteorites and those measured by landed spacecraft, what they reveal about past igneous and aqueous conditions on Mars, and important implications for potential […]
Detection of Thioacetaldehyde (CH3CHS) in TMC-1: Sulfur-oxygen Differentiation Along The Hydrogenation Sequence
In recent years the chemistry of sulfur in the interstellar medium has experienced a renewed interest due to the detection of a large variety of molecules containing sulfur.
Protocell Effects on RNA Folding, Function, and Evolution
Creating a living system from nonliving matter is a great challenge in chemistry and biophysics. The early history of life can provide inspiration from the idea of the prebiotic “RNA […]
Fundamental Constraints To The Logic Of Living Systems
It has been argued that the historical nature of evolution makes it a highly path-dependent process. Under this view, the outcome of evolutionary dynamics could have resulted in organisms with […]
