RNA Archives

(A) Membraneless compartmentalization resulting from liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS). Oil in water represents an example of LLPS, which is a first-order phase transition in soft condensed matter that is driven by molecular interactions that cause separation into two coexisting liquid phases. (B) Intermolecular interactions between intrinsically disordered biopolymers mediate LLPS. -- Academia Molecular Biology and Genomics

Liquid–liquid Phase Separation As A Driver Of Abiogenesis And Evolution

by Keith CowingAugust 3, 2026August 3, 2026

[Academia Molecular Biology and Genomics] The origin of life may have emerged through physical mechanisms that enable molecular organization and self-assembly.

(a) MCM2-7 double-hexamer (DH). (b) DDK-activated MCM2-7 DH in complex with Sld3-Sld7. (c) CDK activity promotes recruitment of helicase activation factors GINS, Polε, Sld2, and Dpb11. (d) Sld2-GINSDpb11-Polε-induced MCM2-7 ATPase-dependent activity results in the splitting of the DH and a rotation of the two CMGE complexes against each other. (e) Mcm10 recruitment promotes DNA extrusion and complete separation of the two hexamers. (f) Extended unwinding promotes the recruitment of Tof1, part of the replication fork protection complex. Loading factors that do not form part of the replication fork are shown in grey. -- Nature

Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics

Pinpointing Where Cells First Begin Copying DNA

by Keith CowingJuly 25, 2026July 25, 2026

[Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Medical Sciences] Every time a cell divides, it must faithfully copy its entire genetic instruction manual. Errors during this process can damage the genome, […]

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]

Origin & Evolution of Life

RNA And Proteins Joined Up At The Origins Of Life: Persistence Is The Point

by Keith CowingJuly 21, 2026July 21, 2026

[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 […]

An RNA library containing a partially randomized sequence having an estimated complexity of ~1014 sequences

Origin & Evolution of Life

How Early RNA-based Life May Have Repaired Its Genome

by Keith CowingJuly 14, 2026July 14, 2026

[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 […]

Composite image from the Galactic Center. Green and yellow: 8 µm and 24 µm emission observed with Spitzer (Churchwell et al. 2009; Carey et al. 2009). Red: 20 cm emission imaged with MeerKAT (Heywood et al. 2019, 2022) and the Green Bank Telescope (GBT; Law et al. 2008). Image adapted from Henshaw et al. (2023; doi: 10.48550/arXiv.2203.11223) and Longmore et al. (2026; 10.48550/arXiv.2602.20340). Credits: Ashley Barnes/Izaskun Jiménez-Serra/Juan García de la Concepción

Astrochemistry

Sugar Erythrulose Discovered In Interstellar Space

by Keith CowingJuly 13, 2026July 13, 2026

[Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)] Sugars are key biomolecules in living organisms, as they form the backbone of DNA and RNA and play a fundamental role in metabolic processes. In […]

Schematic of the selection step in the doped in emulsio selection.

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release

What Powered the Earth’s Earliest Life?

by Keith CowingJune 12, 2026June 12, 2026

Early biological systems likely relied on RNA molecules to copy themselves and drive simple chemical reactions.

The contentious role of RNA in early evolution. The arrow represents the evolutionary trajectory from protobiology to the biological cell, with Protogenetics and the RNA-World as critical intermediary stages. The RNA-First paradigm implicitly assumes not only that RNA was fundamental to the emergence of genetic material but that the protobiological stage itself was already dominated by RNA chemistry, which this essay argues is incompatible with the combinatorial vastness of abiotic environments. -- Life

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report

The RNA-First Fallacy: Conflating Evolutionary Ancestry with Prebiotic Primacy

by Keith CowingJune 11, 2026June 11, 2026

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 […]

A simplified illustration of the model. It depicts a cross-section of a spherical phospholipid vesicle, highlighting its membrane with hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails. Racemic d- and l-ribose (green) can both penetrate the membrane and capture the PO groups, but d-ribose undergoes this process more quickly and is preferentially trapped (purple) inside the vesicle. --Life

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report

Stereoselective Phosphorylation of d-Ribose as a Driver of Life’s Homochirality

by Keith CowingJune 1, 2026June 1, 2026

Life demonstrates remarkable homochirality of its major building blocks: nucleic acids, amino acids, sugars, and phospholipids. Phospholipid bilayer vesicles (liposomes) are formed at the water/air interface from Langmuir layers and […]

Adsorption of crystals of a biological chiral molecule onto a gold-coated cobalt surface. Larger crystals of one specific form of the molecule (left) tend to accumulate on this surface to a greater degree than those of its mirror-image form (right). In the left image, the crystals reach heights of about 1.2 nm, whereas in the right image they do not exceed 0.8 nm. The physical advantage of one form over the other in accumulating on the magnetic surface suggests that, in a competitive setting, it would become the dominant (“winning”) form. -- Weizmann Institute of Science

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Press Release

A Glimpse At The Origins Of Life Through A Deceptive Mirror

by Keith CowingMay 29, 2026May 29, 2026

Imagine looking at yourself in the mirror, only to find that your reflection is governed by different laws than you are: Identical movements produce different outcomes, and what seems like […]

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, People Of Astrobiology, Status Report

Liquid–liquid Phase Separation As A Driver Of Abiogenesis And Evolution

by Keith CowingMay 22, 2026May 22, 2026

The origin of life may have emerged through physical mechanisms that enable molecular organization and self-assembly. Building on Alexander Oparin’s concept of coacervate droplets, liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) offers a […]