evolution – Page 3 – My WordPress Site

A Structural comparison of chlorophyll-based and retinal-based photosystems. Left: Type II reaction center with antenna complex from Thermochromatium tepidum88.

Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology

Priority Effects Inhibit The Repeated Evolution Of Phototrophy

by Keith CowingFebruary 27, 2026February 27, 2026

An idealized schematic for some of the key sequential events in the establishment of the ribosome, starting from the situation in which a parasitic RNA takes advantage of a membrane-bound protocell containing ribonucleotide and amino acid resources used in viral replication, and graduating to a mutualism in which the host cell provides all of the ingredients essential to ribosome replication, and the ribosome engages with host mRNAs to produce proteins of joint utility. Arizona State University

Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life

A Parasitic Origin For The Ribosome?

by Keith CowingFebruary 25, 2026February 25, 2026

In December 2025, Brett Baker led a research cruise to collect microbial genomes off the coast of Uruguay. In this photo, Tyler Smith pilots a remotely operated vehicle collecting shallow coastal sediments. Credit: Brett Baker.

AI - Data - Apps - Cybernetics, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Sample Return, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Break In A Longstanding Mystery About The Origin Of Complex Life

by Keith CowingFebruary 18, 2026February 18, 2026

Predicted secondary structure of QT45 ribozyme with nucleotide color corresponding to fitness for each of the three possible single mutations at each position, displayed in the same order as the three representative mutations shown and colored as in Fig. 2E. Base pair annotations are provided, where the upper rectangle connecting two bases shows the average fitness or epistasis of measured base pair-breaking double mutations. For canonical base pairs, the inner small rectangles show (from left to right) the fitness or epistasis of mutations to base pairs UG, UA, GC, CG, AU, GU. For the non-canonical base pair C11-U35, the base pairs shown are UG, UA, GC, UC, CU, CG, AU, GU. (A) Base pair annotations are colored according to fitness. Base pair-retaining mutations generally have higher fitness than base pair-breaking mutations. (B) Base pair annotations are colored according to epistasis. Base pair-retaining mutations generally show more positive epistasis compared to base pair-breaking mutations. -- Science

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life

A Small Polymerase Ribozyme That Can Synthesize Itself And Its Complementary Strand

by Keith CowingFebruary 16, 2026February 16, 2026

Graphical abstract -- Osaka Metropolitan University

Gaia - Planetary Perspectives, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life, Plant Biology

From Sea To Soil: Molecular Changes Suggest How Algae Evolved Into Plants

by Keith CowingFebruary 11, 2026February 11, 2026

Hypothetical sequence of events that led to the origin of the purple-green photosymbiosis of P. tenue. See main text for details. Note that all ancestors and extant species remain phagotrophic (or mixotrophic in the case of photosymbiosis). This study has revealed the order of endosymbiont acquisition in P. tenue and potential pre adaptations that facilitated the symbiosis. These insights have, in turn, shed light on the question of how two contrasting photosynthetic symbionts came to exist within the same host. Moreover, we have expanded the known diversity of the genus Pseudoblepharisma by discovering new non photosymbiotic species and confidently establishing the sister relationship between the genera Pseudoblepharisma and Spirostomum in the family Spirostomidae. Our genome-based predictions on the physiology of photosymbiotic Pseudoblepharisma species represent the basis for future experimental work on the identity of the metabolites that are exchanged among symbiotic partners. -- biorxiv.org

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life

The Phylogenetic Context For The Origin Of A Unique Purple-green Photosymbiosis

by Keith CowingFebruary 9, 2026February 9, 2026

Alignment of complexity slope intercepts with star formation in the universe. (a) Lines were generated with the slopes and intercepts at early features from Table 4. All intercepts are placed at the “Early Feature Complexity” level of the figure. The mean line was generated from the mean slopes and mean intercepts of Table 4. (b) Star formation data points were generated as described in the text and in the Supplementary Information. The vertical blue line represents the approximate time of Earth formation. -- Life

Astrochemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Intelligence & Language, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia

Can The Timing Of The Origin Of Life Be Inferred From Trends In The Growth Of Organismal Complexity?

by Keith CowingFebruary 9, 2026February 9, 2026

Graphical Abstract - Cell Genomics

Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Microbiology & Virology, Origin & Evolution of Life

A Window Into Evolution – Before The Tree Of Life

by Keith CowingFebruary 6, 2026February 6, 2026

Iron disruption through endosymbiosis: An overview of disruptive effects of iron throughout endosymbiosis, from ecological associations and biochemistries of archaea and bacteria (69) to LECA (90, 94). These effects may underlie a mechanistic connection between the cessation of marine iron deposition and the radiation of the earliest eukaryotes. -- biorxiv.org

News Summary Archives

Did Iron Suppress Eukaryote Emergence and Early Radiation?

by Keith CowingFebruary 5, 2026February 5, 2026

Purported chemotrophic microfossils from the Palaeoarchaean, from the 3.45 Gyr Kitty’s Gap Chert, Pilbara.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Habitable Zones, Impact events, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Nomenclature, Systematics, Natural History, Origin & Evolution of Life

What The Earliest Evidence For Life Tells Us About The Early Evolution Of The Biosphere

by Keith CowingJanuary 31, 2026January 31, 2026