Life is made of the intimate interaction of metabolism and genetics, both built around the
chemistry of the most common elements of the Universe (hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and …

Abstract 50 years after the historical Miller–Urey experiment, the formamide‐based scenario
is perhaps the most powerful concurrent hypothesis for the origin of life on our planet …

All cells contain much more potassium, phosphate, and transition metals than modern (or
reconstructed primeval) oceans, lakes, or rivers. Cells maintain ion gradients by using …

In the presence of formamide, crystal phosphate minerals may act as phosphate donors to
nucleosides, yielding both 5′-and, to a lesser extent, 3′-phosphorylated forms. With the …

The synthesis of RNA chains from 3′, 5′-cAMP and 3′, 5′-cGMP was observed. The
RNA chains formed in water, at moderate temperatures (40–90° C), in the absence of …

Formamide (HCONH2) provides a chemical frame potentially affording all the monomeric
components necessary for the formation of nucleic polymers. In the presence of the …

Molecular Darwinian evolution is an intrinsic property of reacting pools of molecules
resulting in the adaptation of the system to changing conditions. It has no a priori aim. From …

The simplest molecules grou** the four most common elements of the universe H, C, O
and N (with the exception of the biologically inert He) are isocyanate HNCO and formamide …

We describe the one-pot synthesis of a large panel of nucleic bases and related compounds
from formamide in the presence of iron sulfur and iron− copper sulfur minerals as catalysts …

The goal of prebiotic chemistry is the depiction of molecular evolution events preceding the
emergence of life on Earth or elsewhere in the cosmos. Plausible experimental models …