Hydrothermal systems are areas in which heated fluids and organic molecules rush through basaltic material rich in metals and minerals. By studying malononitrile and acetonitrile, we examine the effects of […]
Life Unknown: Preliminary Scheme for a Magnetotrophic Organism.
The formose reaction is a plausible prebiotic chemistry, famed for its production of sugars. In this work, we demonstrate that the Cannizzaro process is the dominant process in the formose […]
The search for life on other planets relies on the detection of biosignatures of life. Many macromolecules have been suggested as potential targets, among which are proteins that are considered […]
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 […]
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 […]
One of the problems that make it difficult to solve the mystery of the origin of life is determining how life emerged in chemically complex messy environments on primitive Earth.
Life is a complex, open chemical system that must be supported with energy inputs. If one fathoms how simple early life must have been, the complexity of modern-day life is […]
The field of astrobiology aims to understand the origin of life on Earth and searches for evidence of life beyond our planet. Although there is agreement on some of the […]
Researchers have suggested that the condensation of low-molecular-weight aldehydes under basic conditions (e.g., pH > 11) is the prebiotic reaction responsible for the abiotic formation of carbohydrates.
