Two fundamental questions have puzzled scientists for more than 150 years. “How did life become homochiral?” and “why was this specific handedness selected?”
RNA
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Missions & Hardware, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Sample Return, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Tricorder Tech: DIYNAFLUOR: An Affordable DIY Plug-and-Play Nucleic Acid Fluorometer for eDNA Quantification in Resource Limited Settings
Editor’s note: with recent speculation about the potential habitability of other worlds and understanding the processes whereby other biospheres arise and evolve, thought needs to be given to developing sensor […]
![Overview. (a) Composition of a bacterial cell by weight, with a breakdown of the chemical constituents [21]. About 40% of these compounds are not properly covered in existing datasets. (b) Multi-step workflow used to construct QCell, beginning with the selection of building blocks, followed by conformational sampling and fragment selection, pre-optimization with DFTB+MBD, and finally hybrid PBE0+MBD(-NL) calculations. (c) Coverage of molecular species at the PBE0+MBD(-NL) level of theory, including entries from existing databases and newly generated QCell data for nucleic acid fragments, lipids, sugars, solvated ions, and dimers. -- AI for Science](https://i0.wp.com/astrobiology.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Mapping-The-Molecules-Of-Life.png?resize=1200%2C719&ssl=1)
Posted inAI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Status Report, Tricorders & Sensors
Mapping The Molecules Of Life: Expanding The Quantum-mechanical Foundation For Biomolecular AI
Machine learning force fields (MLFFs) are rapidly transforming molecular simulations by combining the accuracy of quantum mechanics with the speed of classical approaches. However, training reliable MLFFs for biological systems […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release
Discovery Of A Universal Enzyme That Makes All Four Nucleotide Building Blocks Of Life
A bacterial enzyme called universal PPK2 may simplify and lower the cost of RNA synthesis.
Posted inAstropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report
Computational Chemistry And Supercomputers To Help Understand The Mechanisms Of Life
A new study from the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), in collaboration with Uppsala University (Sweden) and AstraZeneca, shows how computational chemistry and supercomputers can help scientists better understand the […]
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 inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Amino Acids as Molecular Linchpins in the Fundamental Prebiotic Processes of RNA Copying and Vesicle Formation
In addition to being delivered via exogenous means (e.g., chondritic meteorites and comets), amino acids are hypothesized to have been present on early Earth via Urey–Miller-type abiotic processes.
Posted inAtmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Radiation, Status Report
Flare-driven Habitability: Expanding Life’s Potential Around Low-mass Stars
The traditional definition of the circumstellar habitable zone (HZ) focuses on liquid water, but neglects the crucial role of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in prebiotic chemistry.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Icelandic Hot Springs as a Prebiotic Analog: Wet-Dry Cycling Effects on the Stability of Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids
The hot spring hypothesis for the origin of life proposes that naturally occurring wet-dry cycles in small bodies of water could have driven condensation reactions on prebiotic Earth.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Exploration Gear & Tech, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors
New Computational Biology Tool Automates And Standardizes Genome Sequencing Analysis
Editor’s note: with recent speculation about the potential habitability of other worlds and understanding the processes whereby other biospheres arise and evolve, thought needs to be given to developing sensor […]