A team of Rutgers scientists dedicated to pinpointing the primordial origins of metabolism – a set of core chemical reactions that first powered life on Earth – has identified part […]
origin of life
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
RNA Folding Studies Inside Peptide-rich Droplets Reveal Roles Of Modified Nucleosides At The Origin Of Life
Compartmentalization of RNA in biopolymer-rich membraneless organelles is now understood to be pervasive and critical for the function of extant biology and has been proposed as a prebiotically-plausible way to […]
Posted inAstrobiology (general), Habitable Zones, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Status Report
Multiverse Predictions For Habitability: Origin Of Life Scenarios
If the origin of life is rare and sensitive to the local conditions at the site of its emergence, then, using the principle of mediocrity within a multiverse framework, we […]
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Ancient Proteins Offer New Clues About The Origin Of Life On Earth
By simulating early Earth conditions in the lab, researchers have found that without specific amino acids, ancient proteins would not have known how to evolve into everything alive on the […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
New Models Shed Light On Life’s Origin On Earth
The first signs of life emerged on Earth in the form of microbes about four billion years ago. While scientists are still determining exactly when and how these microbes appeared, […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Stability of DL-Glyceraldehyde under Simulated Hydrothermal Conditions: Synthesis of Sugar-like Compounds in an Iron(III)-Oxide-Hydroxide-Rich Environment under Acidic Conditions
Researchers have suggested that the condensation of low-molecular-weight aldehydes under basic conditions (e.g., pH > 11) is the prebiotic reaction responsible for the abiotic formation of carbohydrates.
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Komatiites as Complex Adsorption Surfaces for Amino Acids in Prebiotic Environments, a Prebiotic Chemistry Essay
Komatiites represent the oldest known terrestrial rocks, and their composition has been cataloged as the closest to that of the first terrestrial crust after the cooling of the magma ocean.
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
RNA-catalyzed RNA Ligation Within Prebiotically Plausible Model Protocells
Demonstrating RNA catalysis within prebiotically relevant models of primordial cells (protocells) remains a challenge in Origins of life research.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Tracing The Origin Of life
The origin of life is one of the great questions of mankind. One of the prerequisites for the emergence of life is the abiotic – not by living beings caused […]
Posted inAstrogeology, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
A Window Into Prebiotic Worlds?
A perspective article published today in Science magazine’s Insights section provides a unique assessment of the study by Dustin Trail and Thomas McCollom contextualizing a new calibration they built to […]