Editor’s note: If you are going to investigate genomic information in the field or in a laboratory – the more you know – the more you know. Nanopore technology is […]
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![Chiral molecules can spin polarize magnetic surfaces due to the CISS effect. A. Electron density of a molecule approaching a surface is asymmetrically distributed and a transient charge dipole is created. Charge transport through chiral molecules is spin selective due to the CISS effect and therefore a spin-dipole along the chiral molecular axis accompanies this charge dipole. This transient spin dipole can couple with surface spins due to the spin-exchange interaction (J ≡ [E(↑↑) − E(↑↓)]) and spin polarize the surface along the chiral molecular axis. B. Schematic of the setup used in crystallization experiments for CD detection. Homochiral crystals of RAO are formed on magnetite from their enantiopure solution. These crystals align the magnetic domains under them and interact with the surface spins due to magnetic dipolar coupling—a weaker but longer range coupling compared to the spin-exchange interaction C. A sequence showing the effect of chiral molecules on the magnetic domains. 1 Initially, there is no net magnetization of the magnetic domains. 2 As a layer of RAO is forming, the spins underneath the layer align due to the strong spin-exchange interaction. This is an avalanche magnetization process: molecules align the surface spins and the aligned regions attract more molecules and get larger. 3 The mono-layer grows and covers more surface due to the attraction of chiral molecules to the aligned regions and crystal seeds start forming. 4 Crystals get larger and couple with the magnetic domains due to magnetic dipole-dipole interaction, Edd. D. If an external magnetic field, −→B, is applied, the domains outside the area covered by crystals magnetize. Yet the crystals preserve the magnetization of the domains under them as long as the energy of the dipolar coupling is larger than the magnetic energy. -- physics.chem-ph](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Chirality.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Chirality-Induced Magnetization of Magnetite by an RNA Precursor
Life is homochiral and homochirality is a fundamental feature of living systems on Earth. While the exact mechanism that led to homochirality is still not fully understood, any realistic scenario […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Origin of Biological Homochirality by Crystallization of an RNA Precursor on a Magnetic Surface
Homochirality is a signature of life on Earth yet its origins remain an unsolved puzzle. Achieving homochirality is essential for a high-yielding prebiotic network capable of producing functional polymers like […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
The Central Dogma Of Biological Homochirality: How Does Chiral Information Propagate In A Prebiotic Network?
Biological systems are homochiral, raising the question of how a racemic mixture of prebiotically synthesized biomolecules could attain a homochiral state at the network level.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Formation of Amino Acids and Carboxylic Acids in Weakly Reducing Planetary Atmospheres by Solar Energetic Particles from the Young Sun
Life most likely started during the Hadean Eon; however, the environmental conditions which contributed to the complexity of its chemistry are poorly known.
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 inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Prebiotic Synthesis of Aspartate Using Life’s Metabolism as a Guide
A protometabolic approach to the origins of life assumes that the conserved biochemistry of metabolism has direct continuity with prebiotic chemistry. One of the most important amino acids in modern […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Earth’s Glaciers In Greenland Are Teeming With Microorganisms
There are no plants, and only very few animals: people rarely come here. The large glaciers in Greenland have long been perceived as ice deserts. Gigantic ice sheets where conditions […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
Metagenome Mining And Functional Analysis Reveal Oxidized Guanine DNA Repair At The Lost City Hydrothermal Field
The GO DNA repair system protects against GC → TC mutations by finding and removing oxidized guanine. The system is mechanistically well understood but its origins are unknown. We searched […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Astrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Mars, Press Release
Away Team Exploration Of Lava Caves Informs The Search For Life On Mars
In August 2019, Chloe Fishman crawled into a cave beneath the largest active volcano on the planet. Along with scientists from NASA and other institutions, she had come to Hawaii’s […]