[biorxiv.org] Emergence and evolution of functional RNA and protein structures are the central problems for understanding the origin of life.
DNA
![Overview of the PlainMap mapping workflow. PlainMap processes heterogeneous FASTQ input through header-based pairing inference, pilot subsampling and deterministic chunking, fastp preprocessing, mode-specific mapping, BAM processing, and summary-statistic generation. Optional outputs include mapDamage analyses and FASTQ files containing unmapped reads. -- [q-bio.GN]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/PlainMap.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
PlainMap: A Lightweight, Restartable Mapping Pipeline For Ancient And Modern DNA
[q-bio.GN] Mapping sequencing reads to a reference genome requires preprocessing and alignment choices that can vary with library type, fragment length, sequencing platform, and reference genome.
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
An Integrated Culturomic And Genomic Database And Analysis Platform For Methanogenic Archaea
[Database] Methanogenic archaea research is challenged by limited strain resources, fragmented genomic data, inconsistent genome quality, substantial uncultured lineages, and difficulties in laboratory culturing, hindering advances in biogas production, climate […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
RNA Droplets May Have Helped Start life on Earth
[University at Buffalo] It’s one of the origins of life’s chicken-or-the-egg problems: How could RNA have helped give rise to the first cells before there were cells to contain them?
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
Liquid–liquid Phase Separation As A Driver Of Abiogenesis And Evolution
[Academia Molecular Biology and Genomics] The origin of life may have emerged through physical mechanisms that enable molecular organization and self-assembly.
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Comparative Genomics Of Space-resilient Chroococcidiopsis Cyanobacteria Reveals A Core Genetic Repertoire Supporting Extreme Tolerance Towards Desert And Non-Earth Conditions
[FEMS Microbes] Desert cyanobacteria of the Chroococcidiopsis genus, due to their remarkable desiccation and radiation tolerance, are considered model candidates in the field of astrobiology.
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
Pinpointing Where Cells First Begin Copying DNA
[Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Medical Sciences] Every time a cell divides, it must faithfully copy its entire genetic instruction manual. Errors during this process can damage the genome, […]
![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 inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments
Rising From The Fragments: A Multi-factorial Regulatory Framework Of DNA Damage Response In Deinococcus radiodurans
[Extremophiles] Understanding the coordinated regulation of gene expression in response to environmental challenges is critical for unravelling the resistance strategies of the extremophiles that endure extreme habitats.
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
How Early RNA-based Life May Have Repaired Its Genome
[University of Notre Dame] In most modern cells, DNA stores the genetic blueprint, and relies on proteins to replicate, repair and build from those blueprints. At the same time, proteins […]