Lipids constitute resistant biomarkers that have been proposed as pacemakers in the search for possible microbial life-forms in Mars’ past.
The emergence of protocells from a dilute prebiotic environment is a fundamental challenge in origins-of-life research which requires the simultaneous overcoming of molecular dilution, the establishment of metabolic cycles and […]
In their study, first author Palash Kumawat of the Geosciences Department at the University of Bremen and his colleagues used lipid biomarker analyses to decipher the survival strategies of the […]
The origin of life likely involved a complex interplay between organic molecules and mineral surfaces, yet the molecular details of these interactions remain poorly understood.
![The original role of proteins was to stabilize RNA, rather than to act as enzymes. (a) The peptidyl transferase center of the Escherichia coli ribosome [96]. The figure shows the RNA that forms the catalytic site, as identified by [97], with the three proteins that form the closest association with it: the large subunit proteins L2 (red), L4 (green) and L15 (magenta). All of these have substantial non-globular parts, which are the parts in contact with the RNA. The catalytic center is in the middle of the RNA helix. (b) The human 17S U2 snRNP involved in the first step of RNA splicing [98], showing the RNA core and the protein most closely associated with it (splicing factor 3b). Again, the part of the protein in contact with the RNA is lacking in regular secondary structure. -- LIFE via PubMed](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Autocatalytic-Selection-As-A-Driver.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was revolutionary because it provided a mechanism by which variation could be selected. This mechanism can only operate on living systems and thus […]
We explore a hypothesis in which the detection of classes of lipid-like molecules with similar abundance-averaged lengths would constitute a biosignature for other worlds.
Few questions have captivated humankind more than the origin of life on Earth. How did the first living cells come to exist? How did these early protocells develop the structural […]
Venus has become a target of astrobiological interest because it is physically accessible to direct exploration, unlike exoplanets. So far this interest has been motivated not by the explicit expectation […]
Compartmentalization is crucial for the evolution of life. Present-day phospholipid membranes exhibit a high level of complexity and species-dependent homochirality, the so-called lipid divide. It is possible that less stable, […]
![Rapid coalescence and RNA exchange between unstable protocells. (A) Schematic of preparation of coacervate model protocells. Aqueous solutions of PDDA (positively charged) and ATP (negatively charged) are mixed, along with fluorescently labeled protein or oligonucleotide molecules, to make fluorescently distinct protocell populations. (B and C) Confocal micrographs showing the coalescence of unstable protocells during mixing. Fluorescently distinct PDDA-ATP droplet populations containing fluorophore-labeled BSA or RNA were mixed, and the images were collected after 5 min. Coalescence is evident from the overlapping of red [CF488-BSA in (B) or Cy2-RNA-6nt in (C)] and blue (CF640-BSA) fluorescence in a majority of the droplets. Scale bars, 25 μm. (D and E) Confocal micrographs and the accompanying FRAP plot showing a fast (timescale of a few minutes) recovery of fluorescence from Cy2-labeled RNA of (D) 6 nt in length and (E) 49 nt in length in the photobleached droplets, suggesting a rapid exchange of RNA molecules between protocells. The fluorescence microscopy images are false colored for clarity. Scale bars, 25 μm. -- Science / UChicago](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/New-Research-Suggests-Rainwater.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
One of the major unanswered questions about the origin of life is how droplets of RNA floating around the primordial soup turned into the membrane-protected packets of life we call […]
