nucleic acid Archives

Structure Of An RNA polymerase Ribozyme Replication Complex

by Keith CowingSeptember 10, 2026September 10, 2026

[biorxiv.org] Life began with the emergence of a molecule that could replicate its own genetic material, a task plausibly mediated by an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase ribozyme.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Clue For The Hen And Egg Question: The Simultaneous Formation Of Uracil And Amino Acids Under Simulated Hadean Conditions

by Keith CowingMay 13, 2026May 13, 2026

The origin of life is commonly discussed within two competing conceptual frameworks: the metabolism-first and information-first hypotheses. While each emphasizes a different defining property of early life, modern biochemistry reveals […]

The experimental pipeline, from design to characterization, of peptides comprising the Xeno 1 and Xeno 2 amino acid alphabets. Design begins with a library of commercially available amino acids. The physicochemical properties (Van der Waals volume and hydrophobicity at pH 7) are then estimated for a xeno alphabet heuristic search. The potential energy surfaces for each amino acid which returns in the search is calculated and two xeno amino acid alphabets, Xeno 1 and Xeno 2, are selected based on post-search metrics (e.g. PCA and EMD). The similarity of these alphabets to the E10 is further assessed via calculation of HOMO-LUMO gaps and LogS: their ability to form secondary structures is measured in vitro with ECD, IR, and NMR spectroscopy for random combinatorial 25-mer libraries and for designed sequences. -- biorxiv.org

Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release

Xeno Amino Acid Alphabets Form Peptides With Familiar Secondary Structure

by Keith CowingFebruary 10, 2026

The central dogma of molecular biology describes how genetic information stored in nucleic acids guides the formation of structured proteins from a single molecular alphabet of twenty amino acids (C20)1,2.

Liquid brine veins, where RNA molecules can replicate, surround solid ice crystals in water ice, as seen with an electron microscope. Credit Philipp Holliger, MRC LMB

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Chemists Recreate How RNA Might Have Reproduced For The First Time

by Keith CowingMay 29, 2025May 28, 2025

Chemists at UCL and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology have demonstrated how RNA (ribonucleic acid) might have replicated itself on early Earth – a key process in the origin […]

A simplified (HhH)2-Fold protein binding to natural and mirror-image dsDNA. The binding surface between the two binding modes is partially overlapping -- Credit Liam M. Longo

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

An Ancient Protein Breaks The Rules Of Molecular Handedness

by Keith CowingMay 16, 2025May 16, 2025

A new study led by researchers from the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) at the Institute of Science Tokyo, in collaboration with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Weizmann Institute […]

Summarizing figure showing all educts and products detected during simultaneous reduction of NAD+ and NMN. NMN produces more side products than NAD, possibly creating a mechanistic bottleneck for the back reaction, for which only one-time reduced nicotinamides have a comparable reducing strength – both overreduction products such as NMNH3 and hydrolysis products such as NMNH2OH could likely not compete as reducing agents in a prebiotic scenario. Consequently, only single-reduced species such 1,4-NADH and 1,4-NMNH could be coupled for reduction reactions, thus detaching the reduction from a mineral surface. Based on assessments of the redox potential, we assume 1,6-NADH being able to reduce equally well as 1,4-NADH – not accounting for possible steric hindrances. -- Research Square

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Reduction Of NAD and NMN On Mineral Surfaces With H2 Reveals A Functional Role For The Adenosine Moiety In Prebiotic Evolution

by Keith CowingApril 8, 2025

Many cofactors share a molecular structure – adenosine – that otherwise occurs in nucleic acids. The presence of adenosine in cofactors has presented an evolutionary puzzle.

Graphical Abstract: self-replication: When sulfur is positioned between the two nitrogens of benzothiadiazole, it can engage in edge-on molecular recognition events. We present a new potential self-replicating system based on this interaction, and evidence for autocatalysis. The designs have implications for exobiology, due to their cosmic similarities and potential for genetic capacity. -- Chemistry A European Journal

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Self‐Replication Without Hydrogen‐Bonds: An Exobiotic Design

by Keith CowingNovember 27, 2024November 27, 2024

Life on Earth uses DNA as the central template for self-replication, genetic encoding, and information transfer.

Graphical abstract -- Nucleic Acids Research

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

New Study Sheds Light on Ancient Protoribosome and its Role in Early Life Evolution

by Keith CowingOctober 2, 2024October 2, 2024

Scientists have uncovered new insights into the protoribosome, a molecular fossil within the ribosome, which plays a key role in the origin of life on Earth. This research, published in […]

Replication at the gas-water interface. We considered a geological scenario in which water, containing biomolecules, is evaporated by a gas flow at the scale of millimeters. In volcanic porous rock, many of such settings can be imagined. The gas flow induces convective water currents and causes it to evaporate. Dissolved nucleic acids and salts accumulate at the gas-water interface due to the interfacial currents, even if the influx from below is pure water. Through the induced vortex, nucleic acids pass through different concentrations of salt, promoting strand separation and allowing them to replicate exponentially. Our experiments replicate this environment on the microscale, subjecting a defined sample volume to a continuous influx of pure water with an airflux brushing across. -- biorxiv.org

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Prebiotic Gas Flow Environment Enables Isothermal Nucleic Acid Replication

by Keith CowingJune 19, 2024June 19, 2024

Nucleic acid replication is a central process at the origin of life. On early Earth, replication is challenged by the dilution of molecular building blocks and the difficulty of separating […]