![Overview. (a) Composition of a bacterial cell by weight, with a breakdown of the chemical constituents [21]. About 40% of these compounds are not properly covered in existing datasets. (b) Multi-step workflow used to construct QCell, beginning with the selection of building blocks, followed by conformational sampling and fragment selection, pre-optimization with DFTB+MBD, and finally hybrid PBE0+MBD(-NL) calculations. (c) Coverage of molecular species at the PBE0+MBD(-NL) level of theory, including entries from existing databases and newly generated QCell data for nucleic acid fragments, lipids, sugars, solvated ions, and dimers. -- AI for Science](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Mapping-The-Molecules-Of-Life.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Machine learning force fields (MLFFs) are rapidly transforming molecular simulations by combining the accuracy of quantum mechanics with the speed of classical approaches. However, training reliable MLFFs for biological systems […]
Background/ Objectives: Resolving the origin of the genetic code is fundamental to understanding how life began its journey out of the chemical world. Since its deciphering some 60 years ago, […]
A novel bacterial strain, designated HK31-PT, was isolated from a deep subsurface geothermal aquifer in southwestern Iceland. Phylogenetic analyses, based on 16S rRNA gene sequences, revealed that the strain was […]
A bacterial enzyme called universal PPK2 may simplify and lower the cost of RNA synthesis.
Editor’s note: with recent speculation about the potential habitability of other worlds and understanding the processes whereby other biospheres arise and evolve, thought needs to be given to developing sensor […]
A new study from the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), in collaboration with Uppsala University (Sweden) and AstraZeneca, shows how computational chemistry and supercomputers can help scientists better understand the […]
Geothermal springs, characterized by extreme physicochemical conditions, represent ecologically and evolutionarily significant habitats that foster unique microbial communities and drive adaptive evolutionary processes.
Veryovkina Cave is the world’s deepest known cave (2212 m deep). It is located in the Arabika Massif of Gagra Mountain in the Western Caucasus. Its microbiome remains unknown because […]
The number of known proteins is infinitely small in comparison to the universe of possible proteins which could in theory be realized. Yet these known proteins are the only major […]
In addition to being delivered via exogenous means (e.g., chondritic meteorites and comets), amino acids are hypothesized to have been present on early Earth via Urey–Miller-type abiotic processes.
