[biorxiv.org] Emergence and evolution of functional RNA and protein structures are the central problems for understanding the origin of life.
RNA world
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
New Study Pinpoints When Early Earth May Have Become Ready for Life’s Chemistry
[PSI] Conditions on the early Earth may have become stable enough to sustain the chemistry associated with the origins of life around 4.33 billion years ago, according to new research […]
![A symbiotic scenario for co-evolution of the ribosome and the replicase. Two variations of the scenario are depicted, whereby the peptidyltransferase center (PTC) and the replicase (REP) ribozymes are encoded by distinct (A) or the same (B) RNA molecule. The figure depicts three major stages of cellular evolution from the primordial RNA world (left) to the intermediate RNA-protein world (center) and the last universal cellular ancestor (LUCA, right). The major events occurring during each stage are briefly described in the corresponding information boxes at the bottom of the figure. -- [q-bio.PE]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/The-selfish.png?resize=1200%2C712&ssl=1)
Posted inGenomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics
The Selfish Ribosome
[q-bio.PE]. The ribosome is responsible for protein synthesis in all cells, and is the largest energy consumer in the cell.
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
RNA Droplets May Have Helped Start life on Earth
[University at Buffalo] It’s one of the origins of life’s chicken-or-the-egg problems: How could RNA have helped give rise to the first cells before there were cells to contain them?
![a) Biological evolution as stochastic optimization: Initially, wild-type cells x grow up a population. A mutant y grows up a population. The populations x and y compete. The winner (greater population) then fetches more resources. Fitness landscapes at the bottom show how the mutant is an experiment, where the winner decides the next step direction. b) Evolution annotated in terms of the Central Dogma: (Left, green) Wildtype starting point, NA encodes PR, which gives fitness F. (Top, red), Mutation in the blueprint NA, becoming NA’. (Red, green) both NA sequences grow up into populations. (Next) The populations compete for fitness. The winner, Fx now carries with it the winning sequence NAx and protein P Rx. -- [biorxiv.org]](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/RNA-And-Proteins.png?resize=1200%2C720&ssl=1)
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
RNA And Proteins Joined Up At The Origins Of Life: Persistence Is The Point
[biorxiv.org] What drove nucleic acids (NA) to associate with proteins (PR) at the Origins of Life? We reason from polymer physics and the Central Dogma (CD) that the fitness value […]
Posted inOrigin & Evolution of Life
How Early RNA-based Life May Have Repaired Its Genome
[University of Notre Dame] In most modern cells, DNA stores the genetic blueprint, and relies on proteins to replicate, repair and build from those blueprints. At the same time, proteins […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
The RNA-First Fallacy: Conflating Evolutionary Ancestry with Prebiotic Primacy
The RNA-World hypothesis remains the most widely accepted framework in origins-of-life research, anchored in compelling biochemical evidence for RNA’s deep evolutionary ancestry. However, this viewpoint routinely extends beyond that and […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Membrane Information Organization At The Origin Of Life: From Interfaces To Informational Bodies
Membranes are usually treated as passive containers in origin-of-life models, confining prebiotic chemistry, buffering diffusion, and sustaining gradients.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
A Ribozyme Mass Extinction At The RNA-cellular Boundary And Its Potential Imprint On The Genetic Code
The transition from the RNA world to cellular life remains one of the least understood events in the history of biology.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Atmospheric Supply Of HCN Is Not The Rate Limiting Step For Prebiotic Chemistry Across Rocky Exoplanets
Hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is crucial for the RNA World hypothesis, forming biomolecules essential for early life.