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A Representation of two possible evolution models of the RNA replication system containing two replicases and two parasites. B Illustration of the deterministic assumptions. C Transient compartmentalization with pooling (homogeneous case). D Illustration of the typical oscillatory dynamics obtained with the deterministic approach with second order replication rates and mutations. -- biorxiv.org

News Summary Archives

Compositional Memory Matters For Early Molecular Systems

by Keith CowingMarch 16, 2026March 16, 2026

Template-based cleavage and condensation. (Top) cleavage. The catalyst contains an active site (shown as colored monomers, and highlighted by the ochre box) and a designated cleavage position (the vertical red line). A molecule is treated as a reactant when a segment within it is complementary to the catalyst’s active site; once this match is found, the molecule is split (the break is highlighted in the figure by a small “explosion”) at the cut position. (Bottom) condensation. The catalyst again features an active site and a suture position. A molecule qualifies as the first reactant if its ending segment complements the first portion of the active site, and another molecule serves as the second reactant if its starting segment complements the second portion of the active site. -- Entropy

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life

Template-Based Catalysis and the Emergence of Collectively Autocatalytic SystemsEntropy

by Keith CowingMarch 8, 2026March 8, 2026

Complex DNA architectures are obtained by stacking triangular units, much like well-placed bricks without mortar. Credit Simon Vecchioni

Astropharmacy / Biotechnology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Nanotechnology & SynBio

Scientists Form Complex DNA Structures Without Hydrogen Bond

by Keith CowingMarch 7, 2026March 7, 2026

Transmission electron microscope image at low and high magnifications of a cell grown under 20 MP -- Frontiers

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Europa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Microbes From Ambient-pressure Analogues Offer Insights Into Possible Life In Europa’s High-pressure Subsurface Ocean

by Keith CowingMarch 3, 2026March 3, 2026

Normalized number of monomers and dimers as a function of the temperature and reaction time. Three states are identified: thermodynamic compression, combinatorial explosion, and kinetic compression. In addition, at very short reaction times and low temperatures, we observe the case in which initial components do not react significantly and persist over the course of the simulation. Parameters for this simulation are set as shown in Table 1, except for the concentrations of both kinetic and thermodynamic compressors are constant at 0.05 M. The temperature ranges from −50°C to 200°C, and reaction times range from 10−2s to 108s. -- Phys Chem Chem Phys. via PubMed

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Sample Return

Stringent Selection On Kinetics Of Condensation Reactions: Early Steps In Chemical Evolution

by Keith CowingFebruary 26, 2026February 26, 2026

Simulation results of abundance ratios [H2O2]/[H2O] (black lines), [H2]/[H2O] (orange lines), and [O2]/[H2O] (blue lines) with our model (model A) at 16 K (solid lines) and 77 K (dashed lines). The gray shaded and line filled regions show the experimental results of [H2O2]/[H2O] by Gomis et al. (2004a) at 16 and 77 K, respectively, with an assumed uncertainty of a factor of 3. -- astro-ph.GA

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar

Simulation Of Proton Radiolysis Of H2O And O2 Ices With The Nautilus Code

by Keith CowingFebruary 25, 2026February 25, 2026

SAR11 bacteria comprise some 40% of marine bacterial cells, making them an essential part of our ocean ecosystems. (Image source: Smithsonian / Xiaowei Zhao.)

Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

One Of Earth’s Most Abundant Organisms Is Surprisingly Fragile

by Keith CowingFebruary 5, 2026February 5, 2026

Dust clouds reflect starlight around the star R Doradus. As it nears the end of its life, the star is shedding its outer layers, forming clouds of gas and dust around it (shown here in pink and yellow). Scientists have long believed that starlight illuminating these clouds could power a stellar wind. But the colour of the light around the star reflected by dust, , shows that the dust grains are too small to explain the star’s wind. The image was taken in polarised visible light with VLT/SPHERE. In the centre in yellow and orange, we see ALMA’s image showing the surface of the star. Credit ESO/T. Schirmer/T. Khouri; ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)

Astrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Interstellar, Panspermia, Space Weather & Heliophysics

Stardust Study Resets How Life’s Atoms Spread Through Space

by Keith CowingDecember 29, 2025December 29, 2025

Representation of the molecular systems simulated by MD of PA (blue), EC (green) and AA(red) proteins at varying concentration. -- Nature Communications via PubMed

Analog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Cryobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Sample Return

Cytoplasmic Fluidity And The Cold Life: Proteome Stability Is Decoupled From Viability In Psychrophiles

by Keith CowingDecember 17, 2025

Temporal variation of the abundances (left panels) and 12C/13C ratios (middle and right panels) of selected COMs in the gas phase (solid lines) and in the bulk (surface + mantle) ice (dash-dotted lines) during the static phase (upper panels) and the collapse phase (lower panels). The middle panels show 12C/13C ratios for H13COOCH3, HOCH2 13CHO, 13CH3CHO, and 13CH3CH2OH, while the right panels show those for HCOO13CH3, HO13CH2CHO, CH3 13CHO, and CH3 13CH2OH. The vertical axis is shared between the middle and right panels, and the horizontal black dashed line represents the elemental 12C/13C ratio. -- astro-ph.GA

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar

Isotopomer-Specific Carbon Isotope Ratio of Complex Organic Molecules in Star-Forming Cores

by Keith CowingDecember 14, 2025December 14, 2025