Astrobiology is the science that seeks to understand the story of life in our universe.
The physical processes active during the first billion years (FBY) of Earth’s history, such as accretion, differentiation, and impact cratering, provide constraints on the initial conditions that were conducive to […]
Living organisms have some common structures, chemical reactions and molecular structures. The organisms consist of cells with cell division, they have homochirality of protein and carbohydrate units, and metabolism, and […]
The reflexive translation of symbols in one chemical language to another defined genetics. Yet, the co-linearity of codons and amino acids is so commonplace an idea that few even ask […]
Volcanic eruptions create sterile environments with a variety of habitats available for colonization including hot springs, fumaroles, lava tubes, and rock surfaces.
Despite awe-inspiring diversity, nearly every lifeform – from bacteria to blue whales – shares the same genetic code. How and when this code came about has been the subject of […]
I describe a new method of estimating the prevalence of life in the Universe, based on the fact that more chemically complex environments are more rare. The paper makes three […]
D-amino acids, found in excess in a minority of organisms and crucial for marine invertebrates, contrast with the more common L-amino acids in most life forms.
Assembly theory (AT) aims to distinguish living from non-living systems by explaining and quantifying selection and evolution.
During the evolution of the RNA World, compartments, which were fragments of space surrounded by a primitive lipid membrane, had to have emerged.
