Within a cell, DNA carries the genetic code for building proteins.
RNA
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Astrochemistry: The Mystery of Life’s Handedness Deepens
The mystery of why life uses molecules with specific orientations has deepened with a NASA-funded discovery that RNA — a key molecule thought to have potentially held the instructions for […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Compositional Diversity Of Minimal Coacervates In A Nucleic Acid-peptide World
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 […]
Posted inBiosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Status Report
CABO-16S: A Combined Archaea, Bacteria, Organelle 16S Database for Amplicon Analysis of Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes in Environmental Samples
Identification of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms in environmental samples is currently challenged by either the burden of additional sequencing required to obtain both 16S and 18S rRNA sequences or […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Did The Exposure Of Coacervate Droplets To Rain Make Them The First Stable Protocells?
Membraneless coacervate microdroplets have long been proposed as model protocells as they can grow, divide, and concentrate RNA by natural partitioning.
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, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
New Study Sheds Light on Ancient Protoribosome and its Role in Early Life Evolution
Scientists have uncovered new insights into the protoribosome, a molecular fossil within the ribosome, which plays a key role in the origin of life on Earth. This research, published in […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Status Report
Reactant Discovery with an Ab Initio Nanoreactor: Exploration of Astrophysical N-Heterocycle Precursors and Formation Pathways
The incorporation of nitrogen atoms into cyclic compounds is essential for terrestrial life; nitrogen-containing (N-)heterocycles make up DNA and RNA nucleobases, several amino acids, B vitamins, porphyrins, and other components […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Protocell Effects on RNA Folding, Function, and Evolution
Creating a living system from nonliving matter is a great challenge in chemistry and biophysics. The early history of life can provide inspiration from the idea of the prebiotic “RNA […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Commercial & Private Sector, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Earth Life’s Genetic Alphabet Has Been Expanded To Create Novel Proteins
It’s a dogma taught in every introductory biology class: Proteins are composed of combinations of 20 different amino acids, arranged into diverse sequences like words. But researchers trying to engineer […]