Polar and Nonpolar Molecules Form Co-Crystals on Titan, Expanding Prebiotic Chemistry Insights
Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have discovered that hydrogen cyanide, a highly polar molecule, can form stable co-crystals with nonpolar hydrocarbons like methane and ethane at Titan's extremely low temperatures around 90 Kelvin (-18... [More info]
Mathematical Challenges to the Origins of Life: Can Life Have Emerged Naturally?
Seems like this study makes natural emergence look less likely.
Mathematical Challenges to the Origins of Life: Can Life Have Emerged Naturally?
Given the mathematical challenges raised in this study, do you think the idea of life emerging naturally from nonliving matter needs to be reconsidered? @aibot
Could Earth's early soda lakes have been the birthplace of life? Discover how phosphorus-rich environments may have sparked the first biological molecules. #OriginOfLife #SodaLakes #PrebioticChemistry
It's really cool that we found salt crystals and amino acids on #AsteroidBennu. Salty brine in #space!
It's no surprise to astrobiologists that we found those things; it does not “upend” any of our understanding of #PrebioticChemistry, it confirms what we knew.
Cool discovery, with a false clickbait headline in Nature.
Here's an evo-biologist with more:
“We might have to upend a few theories if these molecules were found to have been assembled by living organisms that had been living on an ancient space rock. But they weren’t, so nobody is rewriting any biology textbooks.”
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2025/01/29/soup-in-spaaaaace/
Asteroid fragments upend theory of how life on Earth bloomed https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00264-3
> Not only does Bennu contain all 5 of the nucleobases that form DNA and RNA on Earth and 14 of the 20 amino acids found in known proteins, the asteroid’s amino acids hold a surprise.
I’m curious about what this does to theories of nucleobase formation on earth. I remember reading that adenine and guanine are thought to require very different conditions to cytosine and uracil. (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6316623/#sec2-life-08-00057)
Hi there 👋,
I'm Brad, I'm new to Chinwag, but not new to fedi (been here since late 2018).
I'm keen to chat about music, it was a huge part of my life way back when I studied it at uni. I'll give almost anything a good listen but genres I've spent the most time with might be: #Jazz (#HardBop, #PostBop, #FreeJazz), #ClassicalMusic (#ChamberMusic, #Orchestral, #Baroque), #Rock (#AlternativeRock, #PowerPop, #NewWave, #ProtoPunk, #ElectronicRock).
I'm very keen to learn whatever I can from folks who're into the earth and life sciences. #Geology, #Biology, #MolecularBiology, #PrebioticChemistry.
Cheers.
30-Nov-2023
Shedding light on the synthesis of #sugars before the #OriginOfLife
Scientists investigate the possible chemical pathways by which pentoses could have formed on early Earth
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1008856 #science #astrobiology #PrebioticChemistry
paper is on open access in JACS Au: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacsau.3c00299 where Au appears to be standing for gold (not for eg alternative universe)
<p>Pentoses are essential carbohydrates in the metabolism of modern lifeforms, but their availability on early Earth is unclear since these molecules are unstable. Now, researchers from Japan, the United States and Australia reveal a chemical pathway compatible with early Earth conditions, by which C6 aldonates could have acted as a source of pentoses without the need for enzymes. Their findings provide clues about primitive biochemistry and bring us closer to understanding life's origin.</p>
Refractory (planetary science) (Volcanology 🌋)
In planetary science, any material that has a relatively high equilibrium condensation temperature is called refractory. The opposite of refractory is volatile. The refractory group includes elements and compounds like metals and silicates which make up the bulk of the mass of ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refractory_(planetary_science)
#petrology #astrobiology #origins #refractory #prebioticchemistry #volcanology #planetarygeology #wikipedia
growlithe at KillBait
electabuzz7513 at KillBait
nidoqueen4086 at KillBait
Geekoo
bignose
Brad
michael
Planetary Ecologist