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 […]
Peptides
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Coenzyme-Protein Interactions Since Early Life
Recent findings in protein evolution and peptide prebiotic plausibility have been setting the stage for reconsidering the role of peptides in the early stages of life’s origin.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Status Report, Tardigrades
Structural Adaptability and Surface Activity of Peptides Derived from Tardigrade Proteins
Tardigrades are unique micro-organisms with a high tolerance to desiccation. The protection of their cells against desiccation involves tardigrade-specific proteins, which include the so-called cytoplasmic abundant heat soluble (CAHS) proteins.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Commercial & Private Sector, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Designer peptide–DNA Cytoskeletons Regulate The Function Of Synthetic Cells
The bottom-up engineering of artificial cells requires a reconfigurable cytoskeleton that can organize at distinct locations and dynamically modulate its structural and mechanical properties.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release
Peptides On Interstellar Ice
Peptides are organic compounds that play a crucial role in many biological processes, for example, as enzymes. A research team led by Dr Serge Krasnokutski from the Astrophysics Laboratory at […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
The Central Dogma Of Biological Homochirality: How Does Chiral Information Propagate In A Prebiotic Network?
Biological systems are homochiral, raising the question of how a racemic mixture of prebiotically synthesized biomolecules could attain a homochiral state at the network level.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
NB-2Ni aka “Nickleback” – A Substance That May Have Sparked Life On Earth
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 […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Early Selection Of The Amino Acid Alphabet Was Adaptively Shaped By Biophysical Constraints Of Foldability
Whereas modern proteins rely on a quasi-universal repertoire of 20 canonical amino acids (AAs), numerous lines of evidence suggest that ancient proteins relied on a limited alphabet of 10 ‘early’ […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Water Droplets Hold The Secret Ingredient For Building Life
Purdue University chemists have uncovered a mechanism for peptide-forming reactions to occur in water — something that has puzzled scientists for decades.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Press Release
Sorting Out Peptide Mixtures
Scientists supported in part by the NASA Astrobiology Program have developed a new method to analyze mixtures of glycine and glycine oligomers using ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography (IP-HPLC). The study […]