Chiral molecules are ubiquitous and necessary for life as we know it. In extant life, the amino acid and sugar constituents of proteins and biopolymers consist of only one enantiomer.
biopolymer
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
The Master Molecule That Built Biology: How Water Shaped The Chemistry Of Life
The deep entanglement of biomolecular structure and function with aqueous systems supports the view that water actively sculpted both molecules and processes during the origins of life and continues to […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Icy Worlds, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Origin & Evolution of Life, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return
Sugars And Stardust Found In NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Samples
The asteroid Bennu continues to provide new clues to scientists’ biggest questions about the formation of the early solar system and the origins of life.
![Biopolymer Solvent scoring. (A) Relationship between the fraction of the biopolymer compatible range and the liquid range of solvents and the average fractional efficiency for conversion of folding free energy to sequence information, for 54 solvents at 1 atm. Large black circle: water. Green circles: hydrocarbons. Magenta circles: small substances from C, H, O, N and S. Grey circles: other solvents in Table 1. Black line: range for water calculated from the uncertainty in the dynamic transition temperature presented in Figure 3 (values range from 180 to 230K). The grey lines indicate constant values of the BSscore (Equation [9]). (B) Ranking of the solvents according to the BSscore. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Solvent-Constraints-For-Biopolymer.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Solvent Constraints For Biopolymer Folding And Evolution In Extraterrestrial Environments
We propose that spontaneous folding and molecular evolution of biopolymers are two universal aspects that must concur for life to happen.
![Temperature domains of water and terrestrial biopolymers at atmospheric pressure. Left: temperature domains of stability and metastability for liquid and glassy water (black) and dynamic transition (red) (11–13). Equilibrium transitions are shown as full lines, kinetically controlled transitions as dashed lines. Right: temperature domains and glass transition for folding of terrestrial biopolymers (blue). Circles indicate proteins (15–19, 27), squares indicate RNA (16, 20–22) and triangles indicate DNA (23–26). Above the glass transition temperature (dashed line) a biopolymer can search for its folded form in an efficient manner. Below the biopolymer glass transition temperature a biopolymer is trapped in a rough energy landscape and will not fold in a biology relevant timescale. The theoretical limits for Tsel and Tf calculated from the average glass transition temperature and formula [4] to [6] are shown as continuous lines. Adapted from (11). -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Solventconstraints.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Solvent Constraints For Biopolymer Folding And Evolution In Extraterrestrial Environments
We propose that spontaneous folding and molecular evolution of biopolymers are two universal aspects that must concur for life to happen.
![Biopolymer Solvent scoring. (A) Relationship between the fraction of the biopolymer compatible range and the liquid range of solvents and the average fractional efficiency for conversion of folding free energy to sequence information, for 54 solvents at 1 atm. Large black circle: water. Green circles: hydrocarbons. Magenta circles: small substances from C, H, O, N and S. Grey circles: other solvents in Table 1. Black line: range for water calculated from the uncertainty in the dynamic transition temperature presented in Figure 3 (values range from 180 to 230K). The grey lines indicate constant values of the BSscore (Equation [9]). (B) Ranking of the solvents according to the BSscore. -- astro-ph.EP](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/solvent.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Solvent Constraints For Biopolymer Folding And Evolution In Extraterrestrial Environments
We propose that spontaneous folding and molecular evolution of biopolymers are two universal aspects that must concur for life to happen.