Nucleic Acids Archives

A simplified illustration of the model. It depicts a cross-section of a spherical phospholipid vesicle, highlighting its membrane with hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails. Racemic d- and l-ribose (green) can both penetrate the membrane and capture the PO groups, but d-ribose undergoes this process more quickly and is preferentially trapped (purple) inside the vesicle. --Life

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report

Stereoselective Phosphorylation of d-Ribose as a Driver of Life’s Homochirality

by Keith CowingJune 1, 2026June 1, 2026

Life demonstrates remarkable homochirality of its major building blocks: nucleic acids, amino acids, sugars, and phospholipids. Phospholipid bilayer vesicles (liposomes) are formed at the water/air interface from Langmuir layers and […]

In a water–water hydrogen bond, a hydrogen nucleus from one water molecule is donated to an sp3 lone pair on the oxygen atom of a neighboring water molecule, along the axis of the O–H covalent bond. The polar O–H bond withdraws electron density from the hydrogen atom, exposing the back of the proton to HB acceptor. -- Protein Science via PubMed

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

The Master Molecule That Built Biology: How Water Shaped The Chemistry Of Life

by Keith CowingApril 25, 2026April 25, 2026

The deep entanglement of biomolecular structure and function with aqueous systems supports the view that water actively sculpted both molecules and processes during the origins of life and continues to […]

The top and lower left panels show the integrated intensity map and the intensity-weighted velocity for EG. The top and lower right panels show the same for GN. We only included that data above 0.005 Jy beam−1 in the moment maps. Gray contours in the intensity-weighted velocity maps represent 1, 3, 5, and 7σ, where σ = 0.005 Jy; beam−1 ; channel−1 , integrated over 10 channels. The beam size is shown in the lower left of each panel. The moment 0 maps for EG and GN were generated by summing the following transitions (EG: 350.70, 351.02, 351.30, and 351.81 GHz; GN: 348.19 and 362.22 GHz). The moment 1 maps were generated by averaging the same transitions used for moment 0 maps. The HNC detection at 362.63 GHz is shown for comparison. -- astro-ph.SR

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

A Deep Search For Ethylene Glycol And Glycolonitrile In The V883 Ori Protoplanetary Disk

by Keith CowingSeptember 11, 2025September 11, 2025

Ethylene glycol ((CH2OH)2, hereafter EG) and Glycolonitrile (HOCH2CN, hereafter GN) are considered molecular precursors of nucleic acids.

Xeno nucleic acids (XNAs) -- JSC via PubMed

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report

Expanding the Horizon of the Xeno Nucleic Acid Space

by Keith CowingDecember 16, 2024December 16, 2024

Xeno nucleic acids (XNAs) constitute a class of synthetic nucleic acid analogues characterized by distinct, non-natural modifications within the tripartite structure of the nucleic acid polymers.

In silico investigations reveal contact modes and frequency of interactions in peptide/nucleic acid coacervates. (a) Representative simulation snapshot of the R4/RNA8 mixture, showing a cluster of RNA and peptide, and unbound peptide in excess. Inset magnifications highlight the investigated interaction modes, e.g., hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and π-π/cation-π stacking. (b) Comparison between the number of DNA and RNA interactions with arginine peptides (per frame, per nucleotide), separated into three categories: hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions and stacking. (c) Simplified rendering of R4/DNA8 (blue) and R4/RNA8 (purple) clusters, showing the helical, structured conformation acquired by DNA strands and the more disordered folding acquired by RNA strands, which leaves ribonucleotides exposed to interact with peptides. (d) Number of peptide/oligonucleotide contacts (all modes of interaction), which represents the total number of intermolecular contacts that one molecule of RNA8 or DNA8 forms with R3 or R4. (e) Excess peptide remaining in the simulation box at equilibrium for RNA8 or DNA8 coacervates with R3 or R4. Abbreviations: R = Arginine. -- chemrxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Compositional Diversity Of Minimal Coacervates In A Nucleic Acid-peptide World

by Keith CowingNovember 8, 2024November 8, 2024

The early co-evolution of RNA and peptides is at the core of the RNA-peptide world hypothesis. Recent studies suggest that nucleotides and amino acids could have formed and polymerised non-enzymatically […]

This view of Jupiter's icy moon Europa was captured by JunoCam, the public engagement camera aboard NASA's Juno spacecraft, during the mission's close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. The picture is a composite of JunoCam's second, third, and fourth images taken during the flyby, as seen from the perspective of the fourth image. North is to the left. The images have a resolution of just over 0.5 to 2.5 miles per pixel (1 to 4 kilometers per pixel). As with our Moon and Earth, one side of Europa always faces Jupiter, and that is the side of Europa visible here. Europa's surface is crisscrossed by fractures, ridges, and bands, which have erased terrain older than about 90 million years. Citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill processed the images to enhance the color and contrast. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing: Kevin M. Gill CC BY 3.0

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Press Release, Radiation, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Biosignatures Could Survive Near The Surfaces of Enceladus and Europa

by Keith CowingJuly 23, 2024July 22, 2024

Europa, a moon of Jupiter, and Enceladus, a moon of Saturn, have evidence of oceans beneath their ice crusts. A NASA experiment suggests that if these oceans support life, signatures […]

Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, seen here from an aerial photo, provides a modern-day glimpse into the types of environments where sulfites may have accumulated and possibly played a role in kick-starting the earliest life on Earth. - USGS

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

Sulfur And The Origin Of Life

by Keith CowingMarch 14, 2024March 14, 2024

Many artists have tried to depict what Earth might have looked like billions of years ago, before life made its appearance. Many scenes trade snow-covered mountains for lava-gushing volcanoes and […]

Graphical abstract -- Université de Montréal

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

How Life Appeared: Rise Of The Nanomachines

by Keith CowingFebruary 9, 2024February 9, 2024

Molecular assembly can be designed by fusing binding domains. A precise optimization of the level of compaction of the assembly using linker of different lengths or compositions can provide a […]

DNA - Richard Wheeler/Creative Commons via NASA

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

Synthesizing Nucleic Acids Before The Emergence Of Life

by Keith CowingDecember 9, 2023December 9, 2023

Life on Earth comes in many diverse forms, yet there are certain biological molecules that are used by all life, appearing in every living cell throughout history.

Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Press Release, Space Life Science, Space Stations, Tricorders & Sensors, Video, Audio, Webcasts, Podcasts

Away Team Tech: Self-Contained Device Isolates Biological Samples

by Keith CowingJanuary 14, 2023January 14, 2023

Overview JSC is looking to interested parties to license and commercialize this patented technology. Innovators at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) developed a patented self-contained device for isolating deoxyribonucleic acid […]