Origins of life research: A roadmap for the transition from chemistry to biology
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2022 at "BioEssays"
DOI: 10.1002/bies.202200157
Abstract: The question of how life evolved from very simple molecules may be one of the biggest questions of mankind. This involves a deeper understanding of how interlocking reaction networks and chemical systemscanevolve.Theknowledgethatisobtainedwillprovideuswith answerstoquestionsaboutabiogenesis,howsimpleorganicmolecules evolved into… read more here.
Keywords: origins life; life research; chemistry; biology ... See more keywords
On the origins of life’s homochirality: Inducing enantiomeric excess with spin-polarized electrons
Sign Up to like & getrecommendations! Published in 2022 at "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America"
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2204765119
Abstract: Significance Essential biomolecules, like amino acids and sugars, are chiral; they exist in mirror symmetrical pairs named enantiomers. However, modern life selectively uses only one of the enantiomers. The origin of this chiral symmetry breaking… read more here.
Keywords: life homochirality; spin polarized; origins life; polarized electrons ... See more keywords
Freshwater and Evaporite Brine Compositions on Hadean Earth: Priming the Origins of Life.
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DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2396
Abstract: The chemical composition of aqueous solutions during the Hadean era determined the availability of essential elements for prebiotic synthesis of the molecular building blocks of life. Here we conducted quantitative reaction path modeling of atmosphere-water-rock… read more here.
Keywords: life; polymerization; rna; pco2 ... See more keywords
Driving forces in the origins of life
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DOI: 10.1098/rsob.200324
Abstract: What were the physico-chemical forces that drove the origins of life? We discuss four major prebiotic ‘discoveries’: persistent sampling of chemical reaction space; sequence-encodable foldable catalysts; assembly of functional pathways; and encapsulation and heritability. We… read more here.
Keywords: forces origins; driving forces; origins life; biology ... See more keywords
Biological Catalysis and Information Storage Have Relied on N-Glycosyl Derivatives of β-D-Ribofuranose since the Origins of Life
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DOI: 10.3390/biom13050782
Abstract: Most naturally occurring nucleotides and nucleosides are N-glycosyl derivatives of β-d-ribose. These N-ribosides are involved in most metabolic processes that occur in cells. They are essential components of nucleic acids, forming the basis for genetic… read more here.
Keywords: information; glycosyl derivatives; life; information storage ... See more keywords
Synthesis and Characterization of Amino Acid Decyl Esters as Early Membranes for the Origins of Life
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DOI: 10.3390/membranes12090858
Abstract: Understanding how membrane forming amphiphiles are synthesized and aggregate in prebiotic settings is required for understanding the origins of life on Earth 4 billion years ago. Amino acids decyl esters were prepared by dehydration of… read more here.
Keywords: amino acids; decyl esters; amino acid; origins life ... See more keywords