Origins of life – Page 6
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ResearchAncient RNA enzymes formed from freeze-thaw cycles
Temperature cycles help small pieces of RNA assemble into complex ribozymes
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ResearchChemicals formed on meteorites may have started life on Earth
Simple chemical turned into DNA bases and other precursors to life on simulated meteorite surface
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ResearchReaction map suggests meteorite chemistry route to life
Scientists propose that key biomolecules appeared simultaneously from a hellish cyanide and sulfide mix
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Research‘Early RNA’ reactions characterised
Enzyme-free linking of nucleotides suggests possible route for the synthesis of ancient RNA
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Research
Tiny volcanic cracks ‘incubated’ ancient DNA
Rock pores may provide answer to mystery of how longer and longer DNA strands arose on the ancient Earth
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ResearchAsteroid bombardment of early Earth may have created building blocks of life
Simulated asteroid impacts turn simple chemical into DNA bases
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ResearchDNA survives extreme heat of rocket re-entry
Discovery might spell trouble for extraterrestrial life hunters faced with terrestrial contamination problems
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ResearchEarth ripe for life soon after formation
Isotope ratios show asteroids delivered water to Earth early on in its history
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ResearchPhotosynthesis-free route to oxygen gives early Earth atmosphere clues
Oxygen can be produced from carbon dioxide using UV radiation
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ResearchBreakup reaction hints at handedness of nature
Dissociation of 3-bromocamphor provides clues on why nature favours one mirror image of a molecule over another
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ResearchFirst interstellar sighting of a branched alkyl molecule
Discovery shows that stellar nurseries could hold amino acids too that might have been the spark for life on Earth
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ResearchComputer simulations point to formamide as prebiotic intermediate in ‘Miller’ mixtures
Electric field may have provided more than just energy for primordial chemistry
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OpinionDoes life play dice?
Philip Ball wonders whether life evolved to exploit quantum phenomena, or if it’s just in our nature
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PodcastChemistry World podcast - August 2014
This month, how artificial comets may explain the origins of asymmetry in life. Plus, we speak to Martyn Poliakoff
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ResearchMiller’s forgotten experiments point to primitive protein genesis
50-year-old test tubes hold clues to formation of peptide bonds – and life – on early Earth
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PodcastNaphthalene
Once a fusty way of keeping moths out of clothes, Brian Clegg explains how naphthalene may have helped bring life to Earth
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OpinionSynthetic biology is bursting with life
Synthetic biology is shifting into high gear. To truly thrive, it needs chemists, says Mark Peplow
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FeatureThe ascent of molecules
Life’s molecular origins may not be preserved in fossils but Laura Howes finds out that chemists are filling the gaps
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Opinion
A (chemical) potential theory of life's origin
Philip Ball says we should look beyond the molecules that make us to find the spark of life