We present a physicochemical framework for understanding the emergence of catalytic logic at the origin of life. In this view, early catalytic systems did not depend on genetic encoding or […]
Metabolism
Posted inMicrobiology & Virology, Microgravity, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Stations
Phenotypic, Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Changes In Klebsiella pneumoniae After Long Term Exposure To Simulated Microgravity
Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) has been detected on space stations.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
On The Origins Of Life: Recreating Cellular Metabolism
At some point during the evolution of life on Earth, inorganic matter became organic, nonliving matter became living. How this happened is one of humankind’s greatest mysteries. Today, scientists work […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Icy Worlds, Press Release, Titania, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
A Thermodynamic Perspective On Potential Life In Icy Ocean Worlds
Dr. Seda Işık, who completed her doctorate at Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences in the Earth System Science Program, achieved significant results in interpreting chemical evidence […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report
Astrochemistry: Abiotic Origin Of Citric Acid Cycle Intermediates
The molecular framework for protometabolism-chemical reactions in a prebiotic environment preceding modern metabolism-has remained unknown in evolutionary biology.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Ancient Life Locked Arsenic Away To Survive Environmental Changes
Earth’s earliest life forms developed ways to survive the harmful effects of arsenic to cope with dramatic changes in their environment, a new study suggests.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
From Amino Acids to α-Keto Acids via β-Elimination and Transamination Initiates a Pathway to Prebiotic Reaction Networks
α-Keto acids, such as pyruvate and glyoxylate, may have been critical in generating reaction networks at the origins of life due to their facile carbon-carbon bond formation and their hydrolytic […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
The Emergence of Chirality From Metabolism
Molecular chirality is critical to biochemical function, but it is unknown when chiral selectivity first became important in the evolutionary transition from geochemistry to biochemistry during the emergence of life.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Novel Hot Spring Thermoproteota Support Vertical Inheritance of Ammonia Oxidation and Carbon Fixation in Nitrososphaeria
Aerobic ammonia oxidation is crucial to the nitrogen cycle and is only known to be performed by a small number of bacterial lineages [ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB)] and a single lineage […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
The Versatility Of Lactic Acid In The Origin Of Membraneless Protocells At The Origins Of Life
Lactic acid is not only a major byproduct of primitive synthetic processes such as spark discharge or UV irradiation, it also is a significant player in modern biology.