Despite awe-inspiring diversity, nearly every lifeform – from bacteria to blue whales – shares the same genetic code. How and when this code came about has been the subject of […]
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Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Earth Life’s Genetic Alphabet Has Been Expanded To Create Novel Proteins
It’s a dogma taught in every introductory biology class: Proteins are composed of combinations of 20 different amino acids, arranged into diverse sequences like words. But researchers trying to engineer […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Identifying The Last Universal Common Ancestor’s Protein Domains Resolves The Order In Which The Amino Acids Were Recruited Into The Genetic Code
We identified protein domains that emerged early in the history of life. Protein domains whose ancestors date back to a single homolog in the Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) remain […]
Posted inBiophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Biophysical Interactions Underpin the Emergence of Information in the Genetic Code
The genetic code conceals a ‘code within the codons’, which hints at biophysical interactions between amino acids and their cognate nucleotides. Yet, research over decades has failed to corroborate systematic […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Superwobbling and tRNA-34 Wobble and tRNA-37 Anticodon Loop Modifications in Evolution and Devolution of the Genetic Code
The genetic code evolved around the reading of the tRNA anticodon on the primitive ribosome, and tRNA-34 wobble and tRNA-37 modifications coevolved with the code.