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 […]
Scripps Research
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Press Release
How Molecular Handedness Emerged In Early Biology
Molecules often have a structural asymmetry called chirality, which means they can appear in alternative, mirror-image versions, akin to the left and right versions of human hands. One of the […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Scripps Research Scientists Reveal How The First Cells Could Have Formed On Earth
Roughly 4 billion years ago, Earth was developing conditions suitable for life. Origin-of-life scientists often wonder if the type of chemistry found on the early Earth was similar to what […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Press Release
Where Did The First Sugars Come From?
Two prominent origin-of-life chemists have published a new hypothesis for how the first sugars—which were necessary for life to evolve—arose on the early Earth.
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry
New Role For Cyanide In Early Earth And The Search For Extraterrestrial Life
Today, the colorless and deadly gas cyanide is known as a fast-acting poison and a chemical weapon. Four billion years ago, however, it may have been a harbinger of life. […]