Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release

Millions Of Protein Complexes Added To AlphaFold Database Shed Light On How Proteins Interact

A new collaboration between EMBL’s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Google DeepMind, NVIDIA, and Seoul National University has made millions of AI-predicted protein complex structures openly available through the AlphaFold Database. […]

Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release, Sample Return

Biosignatures: Detection Of A Biopolymer In 500 Million Year Old Trilobite Fossils

A UT San Antonio-led international research team has identified chitin, the primary organic component of modern crab shells and insect exoskeletons, in trilobite fossils more than 500 million years old, […]

Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

Designing Peptide Fossils That Model the Evolution of the Bacterial Ferredoxin Fold

Electron transfer coupled to redox chemistry is at the heart of metabolism. The proteins responsible for moving electrons (protein electron carriers) must have emerged at the origin of life.

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Laboratory Rotational Spectroscopy And Interstellar Search For The Protein Precursor 4-oxobutanenitrile (HCOCH2CH2CN)

Understanding the presence and distribution of prebiotic precursors in the interstellar medium (ISM) is key to tracing the chemical origins of life. Among them, 4-oxobutanenitrile (HCOCH2CH2CN) has been identified in […]

Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

All Life Copies DNA Unambiguously Into Proteins. Archaea May Be The Exception.

The beauty of the DNA code is that organisms interpret it unambiguously. Each three-letter nucleotide sequence, or codon, in a gene codes for a unique amino acid that’s added to […]

Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Meteorites & Asteroids, Missions & Hardware, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors

Prebiotic Organic Compounds In Samples Of Asteroid Bennu Indicate Heterogeneous Aqueous Alteration

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission characterized the asteroid Bennu and delivered pristine samples of its regolith to Earth.

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