One of the first biological machineries to be created seems to have been the ribosome.
Since then, organisms have dedicated great efforts to optimize this apparatus. The …

The origin of life entails a continuum from simple prebiotic chemistry to cells with genes and
molecular machines. Using life as a guide to this continuum, we consider how selection …

The origin of life on Earth would benefit from a prebiotic atmosphere that produced nitriles,
like HCN, which enable ribonucleotide synthesis. However, geochemical evidence suggests …

The applicability of computational models to the biological world is an active topic of debate.
We argue that a useful path forward results from abandoning hard boundaries between …

Water is essential for life as we know it, but it has paradoxically been considered inimical to
the emergence of life. Proteins and nucleic acids have sustained evolution and life for …

Conspectus Life is an exergonic chemical reaction. The same was true when the very first
cells emerged at life's origin. In order to live, all cells need a source of carbon, energy, and …

The prebiotic replication of DNA and RNA is a complex interplay between chemistry and the
environment. Factors that have direct and indirect effects on prebiotic chemistry include …

The demonstration by Ivan Barnes et al. that the serpentinization of fresh Alpine-type
ultramafic rocks results in the exhalation of hot alkaline fluids is foundational to the …

Abstract α‐Amino acids are essential molecular constituents of life, twenty of which are
privileged because they are encoded by the ribosomal machinery. The question remains …

Abstract tRNA molecules contain dense, abundant modifications that affect tRNA structure,
stability, mRNA decoding and tsRNA formation. tRNA modifications and related enzymes …