A Clamping Domain Facilitates Processivity and Promoter Recognition in an RNA Polymerase Ribozyme (Razvan COJOCARU)
The “RNA World” proposes that early in evolution RNA could have served both as the carrier of genetic information and as a catalyst. Later...
Cometary Phosphorus (Daniel BOICE)
Phosphorus is a key element in all living organisms but its role in life's origin is not well understood. Molecules bearing phosphorus have been...
Reproducing catalytic micelles as early nanoscopic protocells harboring dynamic lipid aptamers (Doron LANCET)
Protocells are often conceived as bilayer-ensheathed life precursors, whose self-reproduction necessitates the earlier emergence of replicating biopolymers with catalytic capacities. We have explored the...
Many Branches on the Tree of Life? (Nick NIELSEN)
The origin of life is a major threshold of emergent complexity, but is there is one and only one form of emergent complexity—life as...
Meteorites and Minerals associated with the Origin of Life (Bob BRUNER’s EXHIBIT)
Below is the latest version of my exhibit which has been shown at 22 international conferences since 2014. From left to right and top...
The Hot Spring Hypothesis for the Origin of Life: New Experimental Approaches and Results (Bruce DAMER)
A scenario for an origin of life in a hot spring setting has undergone significant experimental testing over the past decade (Damer and Deamer,...
Natural Nanofluidic Environments as Prebiotic Reaction Vessels: Abiotic RNA formation in temporal nanoconfined water (Frank TRIXLER)
The "water paradox" is a crucial problem in the research on the prebiotic chemical evolution towards the emergence of life: It states that although...
Why is Oxia Planum the right landing site for ExoMars 2022? (Jorge Vago)
ExoMars 2022 was conceived, from the very beginning, to answer one question: Was there ever life on Mars? All project design decisions have focused...
