Origins of life – Page 4
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ResearchPhotoredox sugar synthesis plausible on early Earth
Study using prebiotically realistic wavelengths adds weight to origin-of-life theory
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ResearchMeteorites' mechanical energy might have created building blocks of life
Did a cosmic impact kick-start amino acid formation?
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ResearchRobot with AI brain learns to evolve synthetic protocells
Evolution of oil-in-water system guided by machine learning offers insight into origins of life
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FeatureLife on other planets
A series of missions to the moons of Jupiter and Saturn has revealed their potential to harbour life. Nina Notman looks to the skies
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ResearchEnzyme-free reaction cycles hint at primitive precursor to metabolism
Reactions between small carboxylates and a hydrogen peroxide catalyst resemble the modern citric acid cycle
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ResearchFossil isotopes reveal life’s diversity 3.5 billion years ago
Early microbes evolved distinct metabolisms based around hydrogen sulfide and methane
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ResearchCarbohydrates promoted in new prebiotic theory
Aldol reactions between interstellar materials can make DNA sugar
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OpinionDid life emerge from hell on Earth?
Why our origins may lie in the Hadean era, 4 billion years ago
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ResearchDeuteration of classic origin of life experiment throws up surprises
Replay of iconic Miller–Urey work with heavier hydrogen isotope produces unexpected compounds
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ResearchHydrothermal vents generate deep-sea currents
Minerals spewed by ocean vents set up redox reactions that allow electrical currents to flow
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OpinionPolymer amphiphiles could help reveal the origins of life
Spontaneous shapes and reactions to light may explain how protocells form
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FeatureShedding light on the dark proteome
Around half of all human proteins are a mystery. What do they look like, asks Phil Ball
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ResearchSynthetic cells pass bacterial Turing test
Chemical communication offers a way to determine how lifelike an artificial cell is
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ResearchRiddle of life’s origin may be answered by dividing protocells
Model suggests simple chemical systems could grow and reproduce and could have got life off to a flying start
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ResearchGooey origins for RNA world
Viscous muddy pond edges may have been incubators for the rise of self-replicating RNAs on ancient Earth
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ResearchPrimitive synthetic cells get a taste for each other
Predatory protocells offer insight into how such behaviours may have arisen at the dawn of life
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ResearchNucleic acid instability challenges RNA world hypothesis
Early life may have contained both RNA and DNA, rather than just RNA
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Research3.7 billion year old microbe fossils discovered in Greenland
Discovery puts earliest evidence for life back 220 million years