Life emerged on Earth some 3.8 billion years ago. The “primordial soup theory” proposes that chemicals floating in pools of water, in the presence of sunlight and electrical discharge, spontaneously […]
biophysics
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
How Calcium May Have Unlocked The Origins Of Life’s Molecular Asymmetry
A new study led by researchers at the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at Institute of Science Tokyo has uncovered a surprising role for calcium in shaping life’s earliest molecular structures. […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Hydrogenation of HOCO and Formation of Interstellar CO2: A Not So Straightforward Relation
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the most important interstellar molecules. While it is considered that it forms on the surface of interstellar dust grains, the exact contribution of different […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
An RNA Condensate Model For The Origin Of Life
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 […]
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
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.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
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.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
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 […]
Posted inBiophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report
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 […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
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 […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Mars, Sample Return, Status Report
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 […]