The search for organic matter on Mars has rapidly evolved in the past decade with simple aromatic, S-heterocycles, and aliphatic organic molecules detected in Gale crater.
At some point in Earth’s history, chemistry transitioned from abiotic organic synthesis—the building of more complicated organic molecules from smaller ones by nonbiological means—to biochemistry.
In 2024, NASA’s Perseverance rover explored Neretva Vallis, an ancient river channel that once transported water into Jezero crater.
Samples collected on carbonaceous asteroids and preserved from terrestrial alteration are key witnesses of the early evolution of the Solar System. Here we present the results of the characterization, by […]
Atmospheric chemistry in Venus remains elusive, especially the photochemical role of sulfur species and the unexplained presence of ammonia (NH3).
Protein diffusion, critical for cellular metabolism, occurs in the highly crowded cytoplasm. Understanding how this dynamics changes when organisms are adapted to different thermal niches is a fundamental challenge in […]
Free oxygen (O2) first began accumulating in Earth’s atmosphere shortly after the Archean-Proterozoic transition during the ‘Great Oxidation Event’ (GOE).
RNA and proteins are the foundation of life and a natural starting point to explore its origins.
Shocked meteorites can be used to probe the dynamics of the early Solar system. Carbonaceous chondrites are less shocked than ordinary chondrites, regardless of the degree of aqueous alteration.
Polycyclic aromatics are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium and meteorites, yet the search for lunar polycyclic aromatics remains a significant challenge.
