[biorxiv.org] The evolutionary basis for the selection of the standard proteinogenic amino acids remains elusive, particularly for the long cationic amino acids, lysine and arginine, which were likely scarce in […]
biorxiv.org
![Graphical abstract -- [biorxiv.org]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/tinyRNA-seq.png?resize=1200%2C717&ssl=1)
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
tinyRNA-seq: An Optimized Approach To Sequencing Tiny RNAs And Primitive RNA Genomes
[biorxiv.org] Very short RNAs play critical roles in modern biology, and are thought to have been crucial for genome replication during the origin of life.
![Selection on a collective trait drives the origin of heredity. (A) Intracellular 5 competition drives the dominance of the red plasmid when fluorescence is enforced (left-hand panel) while poor inheritance and carriage costs purge the ancestral plasmid population entirely when no selective gate is used (right-hand panel). Coloured zones show the proportion of the population in each colour class through 21 cycles: red only, green only, yellow (red plus green), white (cells without fluorescence). -- [biorxiv.org]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Forging.png?resize=1200%2C718&ssl=1)
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
Forging An Evolutionary Individual From Separate Replicators
[biorxiv.org] A central puzzle in the evolution of individuality is the origin of heredity. Egalitarian transitions integrate formerly independent replicators into a higher-level individual, but this requires the collective to […]
![a) Biological evolution as stochastic optimization: Initially, wild-type cells x grow up a population. A mutant y grows up a population. The populations x and y compete. The winner (greater population) then fetches more resources. Fitness landscapes at the bottom show how the mutant is an experiment, where the winner decides the next step direction. b) Evolution annotated in terms of the Central Dogma: (Left, green) Wildtype starting point, NA encodes PR, which gives fitness F. (Top, red), Mutation in the blueprint NA, becoming NA’. (Red, green) both NA sequences grow up into populations. (Next) The populations compete for fitness. The winner, Fx now carries with it the winning sequence NAx and protein P Rx. -- [biorxiv.org]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/RNA-And-Proteins.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
RNA And Proteins Joined Up At The Origins Of Life: Persistence Is The Point
[biorxiv.org] What drove nucleic acids (NA) to associate with proteins (PR) at the Origins of Life? We reason from polymer physics and the Central Dogma (CD) that the fitness value […]
Posted inUncategorized
Hydrothermal Origin Of Metabolic Phosphorylation
Phosphate is central to modern bioenergetics and to all theories for the origin of life. How phosphate entered metabolism is unknown, though microbial physiology and geochemical environments can provide important […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Metal-catalyzed Phosphorylation By Phosphite At The Origin Of Bioenergetics
How did phosphate become the universal energetic currency of life? Traditional approaches to phosphorylation in early evolution studies entail oven drying, non-aqueous solvents, dangerously reactive forms of phosphorus, or other […]
Posted inCaves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Physiological Trade-offs Drive The archaeal Dominance And Carbon Turnover In Deep Subsurface
Marine sediments host a vast deep biosphere, yet how microorganisms persist under severe energy limitation and govern long-term organic carbon (OC) preservation remains poorly understood.
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Artificial Intelligence Aided Design Of Peptides With Custom Secondary Structure Motifs And Reduced Amino Acid Alphabets
Proteins are highly diverse functional polymers where the specific sequence of amino acids, selected from a standard genetically-encoded alphabet of twenty (C20), determines the structure and ultimately the function of […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Mars, Status Report
Defined Mars Media (DMM), A Chemically Defined Simulant Of The Soluble Macro- and Micro- Nutrients In Mars Regolith For Use In Biological Research
Mars’ relatively moderate surface conditions, availability of solar energy, and in situ resources like water ice, carbon dioxide, and mineral-rich regolith make it a compelling target for supporting life beyond […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Plant Biology, Status Report
Is Constitutive Red-shift An Advantage For Oxygenic Photosynthesis Under M-dwarf Starlight? Insights From Acaryochloris marina sp. str. Moss Beach
In the next years, several space missions will search for evidence of life on exoplanets, focusing on robust biosignatures associated with oxygenic photosynthesis, including atmospheric oxygen accumulation and the Vegetation […]