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Topological alteration of a state graph. a) A system being coarse-grained and receiving arbitrary labels from an external observer. The example macrostate (u) labels are vectors of three binary-valued microstate variables denoted (v1, v2, v3). Panels b to d display the topologies of the physicallyreachable state graph after constraining a variable of the labeling vector. The nodes and edges that became inaccessible as a consequence of applying a conservation law are displayed with lighter colors. The top row corresponds to setting value 0, while the bottom row corresponds to setting the variable to 1. b) Constraining variable v1. On the one hand (b.1), a conservation law for v1 = 0 leads the system to state u1. On the other hand (b.2), with v1 = 1, the system cannot escape from u2. c) Constraining variable v1. In the case v1 = 1 in c.2), the graph is restricted to u3 and has no possible transitions. The node does exist under a conservation law setting v1 to 1 but there is no way to reach this node due to the topology of the unconstrained graph. d) Constraining variable v3. This variable is constant and equal to 1 in the unconstrained graph in a), so a conservation law setting v3 = 0 such as in panel d.1 is meaningless for this case. -- physics.bio-ph

Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life

An Open-Ended Approach to Understanding Local, Emergent Conservation Laws in Biological Evolution

by Keith CowingSeptember 24, 2024September 24, 2024

While fields like Artificial Life have made huge strides in quantifying the mechanisms that distinguish living systems from non-living ones, particular mechanisms remain difficult to reproduce in silico.

NASA Planetary Science Summer School

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Microbiology & Virology, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Dwellers In The Deep: Biological Consequences Of Dark Oxygen

by Keith CowingAugust 15, 2024August 15, 2024

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Habitable Zones, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Synthesis And Stability Of Biomolecules Under Earth’s Upper Mantle Conditions

by Keith CowingMay 9, 2024

Fluorescence microscopy image of marine microbial life stained with a DNA-binding dye. The smallest dots are virus-like particles, which can reach concentrations of 1 to 100 million per milliliter of seawater. Photo: David Needham, GEOMAR

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Origin & Evolution of Life

Formation Of Extraterrestrial Peptides And Their Derivative

by Keith CowingMay 3, 2024May 3, 2024

Representation of a newly discovered nitrogen-oxygen-sulphur, known as NOS, link (blue: nitrogen, red: oxygen, yellow: sulphur) between the amino acids glycine and cysteine within an enzyme - Credit Sophia Bazzi (structural data from the Protein Data Bank, visualization using Coot software)

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

GTP Before ATP: The Energy Currency At The Origin Of Genes

by Keith CowingMarch 24, 2024March 24, 2024

Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Origin & Evolution of Life

How Do Particles With Complex Interactions Self-assemble?

by Keith CowingDecember 28, 2023

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

Origin of Biological Homochirality by Crystallization of an RNA Precursor on a Magnetic Surface

by Keith CowingJune 16, 2023June 16, 2023

Minimum temperature for 5σ detectability as a function of the observed orbital phase and eccentricity for an Io-like moon with an Io-like semi-major axis (top) and for an Earth-like moon with a Callisto-like semi-major axis (bottom). The green and blue contours indicate the contour corresponding to the nominal (zero-eccentricity) required temperature (as marked on the top plot in Fig. 3), and the 10 K deviations from this temperature, respectively; in both cases, these are also marked on the colourbar. We note that in all non-zero eccentricity cases the temperature required for observability is in fact lower than for the circular case over > 50% of the orbit. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Imaging & Spectroscopy

Multimodal Techniques For Detecting Alien Life Using Assembly Theory And Spectroscopy

by Keith CowingMarch 20, 2023March 20, 2023