Bioorganic molecules, such as amino acids, nucleobases, and sugars, are widely distributed in space.
Peptides
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Missions & Hardware, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, Sample Return
Amino Acids Discovered In Asteroid Bennu Formed In Space In The Early Solar System
Amino acids, the building blocks necessary for life, were previously found in samples of 4.6-billion-year-old rocks from an asteroid called Bennu, delivered to Earth in 2023 by NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission.
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release
Xeno Amino Acid Alphabets Form Peptides With Familiar Secondary Structure
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.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
New Research Reveals That Complex Building Blocks Of Life Form Spontaneously In Space
In a cutting-edge laboratory at Aarhus University and at an international European facility in Hungary (HUN-REN Atomki), researchers Sergio Ioppolo and Alfred Thomas Hopkinson conduct pioneering experiments.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
New Study Reveals Why Nature Picked Today’s Proteins
Why did life on Earth choose alpha amino acids as the building blocks of proteins? A new study suggests the answer lies in the stability of their inter-molecular interactions.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Fundamental Role of N–O Bond-Containing Compounds in Prebiotic Synthesis
The emergence of biomolecules on the primordial Earth represents a pivotal scientific question for understanding the origin of life.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Computational Prediction For The Formation Of Amides And Thioamides In The Gas Phase Interstellar Medium
Amino acids and amide bonds (−C(O)−NH−) are the essential components of proteins, which serve as the foundation of life on Earth. As a result, molecules containing peptide bonds are of […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Origins Of The Building Blocks Of Life: A Review
How and where did life on Earth originate? To date, various environments have been proposed as plausible sites for the origin of life. However, discussions have focused on a limited […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
On the Origin of Information Dynamics in Early Life
We hypothesize that predictable variations in environmental conditions caused by night/day cycles created opportunities and hazards that initiated information dynamics central to life’s origin.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report
Ly-α Processing of Solid-state Ethanolamine: Potential Precursors to Sugar and Peptide Derivatives
Ethanolamine (EA), a key component of phospholipids, has recently been detected in the interstellar medium within molecular clouds.