Origins and Evolution of Life

This study shows that freeze-thaw cycles can concentrate molecules, form membrane compartments, and activate a transcription-translation system, suggesting a physical pathway for the emergence of functional protocells.

This study shows that after complete cell death of Staphylococcus aureus in pure water, lipid bilayer microspheres containing RNA and proteins form and exhibit dynamic stability, suggesting a simpler form of life called the Meta Body.

This study shows protocells can mimic morphological and chemical features of early microfossils, challenging current biogenicity criteria.

The paper proposes a model showing how nucleic acids and proteins could have cooperatively bootstrapped each other to achieve autocatalytic functionality at the origins of life.

This study uses computational simulations to show that short random peptides enhance RNA evolution and structural diversity, suggesting an RNA-peptide world in early life.

The paper tests the hypothesis that propagule formation was advantageous in prebiotic ecosystems under specific spatial and environmental conditions.

The paper assesses how UVC radiation interacts with liposomes in FeCl3 solutions and discusses implications for early Earth UV environments and liposome evolution.

The paper demonstrates cooperative genomic RNA replication in artificial multicellular-like droplet colonies through molecular communication.

This paper develops a minimal mathematical model showing how ATP-dependent allosteric regulation stabilizes RNA replication by taming parasitic mutants through hyperparasitic binding and evolutionary transitions in control and energy conversion.

The paper investigates autocatalytic chemical reaction networks to validate the 'five nodes' principle as a basis for autopoietic systems and a universal theory of life.

This study shows that coacervates protect RNA from hydrolysis during wet-dry cycling with Mg2+ by creating a stable microenvironment, as demonstrated with an unstructured RNA and a ligase ribozyme.

The paper predicts a radical-based pathway for peptide bond formation under prebiotic conditions, showing it could occur without complex catalysts and with low energy barriers.

The paper demonstrates that peptides and proteins can self-replicate and form cell-like structures from amino acids in aqueous media without cellular components.

This study investigates flavin redox behavior under prebiotic hydrothermal conditions, showing their versatility in electron transfer with metals and their potential role as electron shuttles in early geochemical systems.

The paper introduces a framework for biological inheritance as catalytic templating reactions, identifies conditions for heritable diversity, and applies it to the bacterial Drt3b system to predict and validate mutational effects.

This study shows that random RNA pools can exhibit weak heritability through sequence and structural persistence, suggesting an early mechanism for information propagation before enzymatic life.

This paper proposes a model for the origin of protein synthesis through co-adaptation of flexible and rigid molecular structures in a prebiotic environment.

The paper develops a theoretical framework to assess the invasion potential of mirror life in ecosystems, showing ecological constraints limit its establishment.

This study identifies β-furanoside-5'-phosphate as the preferred RNA scaffold through biophysical selection, showing its enhanced lipid permeability and enrichment in protocells.

This paper demonstrates that phosphite oxidation catalyzed by palladium generates phosphorylated products under physiologically relevant conditions, suggesting a pathway for the origin of bioenergetics.

The paper explores how the transition from RNA-based to protein-based life resolved evolutionary conflicts within protocells by establishing the genome as the heritable unit.

The paper demonstrates that nonequilibrium conditions enable the nonenzymatic synthesis of glutamate from succinate and CO2 through the reverse tricarboxylic acid cycle under prebiotic conditions.

This paper introduces a framework for prebiotic selection as a physical process, showing it can explain chemical convergence in amino acids and nucleobases across diverse environments.

This study shows that protocell colonies grow under spatial confinement through mechanical shearing, while isolated protocells rupture due to surface-volume imbalance.

This study develops a framework to model coevolution of molecular replicators and parasites with transient compartmentalization, showing compositional memory influences early molecular system dynamics.

This study shows that ammonium and alkylammonium counterions enhance RNA polymerization from 2,3-cyclic nucleotides under dry, geologically plausible conditions.

The paper compares cell-like entities from mammalian tissues with Precambrian microfossils, finding morphological and biochemical similarities suggesting biologically active systems in both.

The paper analyzes nucleic acid sequences from the Zag meteorite, showing they lack biological coding features but exhibit constrained complexity, suggesting non-biological or unknown origins.

This study shows hydration-dehydration cycles drive compartment dynamics in minimal protocells without chemical reactions or metabolism.

This paper proposes that a ribozyme mass extinction 3.9-3.8 billion years ago shaped the genetic code through ecological and evolutionary mechanisms.