liposome Archives - Astrobiology

Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release, Sample Return

Experimental and Numerical Modeling of Liposome Congregation in Meteorite Craters of Early Earth

by Keith CowingApril 29, 2026April 29, 2026

This paper provides experimental and numerical evidence supporting the occurrence of liposome congregation at the floors of meteor craters on Early Earth.

Illustration of liposome protection from UV. The top panel shows a drawing of the crater. The top- and sideview photographs show the intensity distribution of the blue color after UV exposure. When subjected to UV radiation, the liposomes go through a color change from the original white to blue, with the color intensity correlated with the level of physical destruction of the liposomes. Furthermore, the liposomes change to red when exposed to high heat. The experiment shows that liposomes located at the edges and not covered by the solution turn to blue and then to red within the first few seconds of UV exposure, likely due to the combined effects of UV and heat emitted from the lamp. Liposomes covered by the solution demonstrate a gradual change of the blue color from deep-blue for those at the edge to less intense and almost transparent, deeper toward the center. Even after more than two hours of UV exposure, the liposomes in the crater’s center stayed intact. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Caves, Craters, Mountains, Subsurface, Lava Tubes, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Sample Return, Status Report

Experimental And Numerical Modeling Of Liposome Congregation In Meteorite Craters Of Early Earth

by Keith CowingFebruary 25, 2026February 25, 2026

This paper provides experimental and numerical evidence supporting the occurrence of liposome congregation at the floors of meteor craters on Early Earth.

Artistic depiction of liposome formation and evolution. Liposomes formed on the surface of the Archean water pools are destroyed by Solar UV unless they acquire two adaptive traits – the heavy content that sinks the liposomes to the bottom of the pool and facilitates protection from UV, and the formation of resilient autocatalytic membrane composition that ensures liposomal survival, fusion, fission, and mutation of the components, thus providing liposomes adaptation and persistence. -- q-bio.PE

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Meteorites & Asteroids, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Heuristic Model On The Origin Of The Homochirality Of Life

by Keith CowingJanuary 2, 2026January 3, 2026

Life demonstrates remarkable homochirality of its major building blocks: nucleic acids, amino acids, sugars, and phospholipids. We propose a mechanism that places the root of life homochirality in the formation […]

[L] Absorbance data was acquired on a Perkin Elmer Synergy Neo2 plate reader equipped with monochromator optics. We first conducted spectral scanning from 380 nm to 740 nm (5 nm steps) to determine the wavelength of maximal OD increase (645 nm). Subsequent endpoint reads were acquired pre- and post-UV exposure at that single wavelength. Black columns – liposomes before the UV irradiation; grey columns – liposomes radiated with UV for 3 minutes. [R] Liposomes after 3 min of UV radiation. The top image shows liposomes shielded by cuvettes with distilled water, and the middle and bottom images show liposomes shielded by cuvettes with solutions of (NH4)5[Fe(C6H4O7)2] and FeCl3. -- biorxiv.org

Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Solutions Of Ferrous Salts Protect Liposomes From UV Damage: Implications For Life Origin

by Keith CowingMay 6, 2024May 6, 2024

Previously, we presented a hypothesis on the Darwinian evolution of liposomes that relies only on natural and ever-present phenomena: solar UV radiation, day/night cycle, gravity, and the formation of amphiphiles, […]