OoL digest — November 2
This week we have 23 new papers relevant to the origins of life. Enjoy!
Please note that these papers were selected based on their relevance to the topic, not their quality.
Astrobiology
Cometary impacts an unlikely pathway towards the origins of life on Earth
Anslow et al. — Scientific Reports
Windows of Nutrient Bioaccessibility: Phosphorus as a Key Constraint on the Chemical Potential for Life Beyond Earth
Díaz-Álvarez — Astrobiology
How expansive and flexible is the matrix of life?
Gibb — Nature Chemistry
Astrochemistry
UV-driven organic precursor formation and dust evolution outside the snow line
Manoraj et al. — preprint
Evolutionary Demographics of Molecular Ice Mantles in Young Stars with SPHEREx
Serna et al. — preprint
Astrophysics
Early architecture concepts for the Habitable Worlds Observatory system design, modeling, and analysis
Liu et al. — Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems
Biochemistry
Ribozymes That Benefit from Peptide Cofactors with Aromatic Modifications
Le et al. — Life
Widespread Presence of Catalytic RNAs in All Domains of Life
Qi et al. — preprint
Biology
Reversion to the Meta Body Form of Life after Complete Cell Death in Pure Liquid Water
Fang et al. — preprint
Rethinking hydrothermal vents: a structural ecology perspective on the early emergence of metabolic roles
Kato — The Science of Nature
A symbiogenic merger enabled by oxygen initiated the evolution of eukaryotes
Speijer — Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Chemistry
Molecular Autocatalysis through Interfacial Recruitment of Catalytic Functional Groups
Douty et al. — preprint
Chiral H2S Ice
Rout et al. — preprint
Prebiotic Synthesis of L-Homochiral Peptides on Primordial Earth
Zhang et al. — Astrobiology
Computational Biology
Structural clustering across the tree of life reveals candidate Asgard-eukaryote homologs and a shared expansion of solenoids
Graseck et al. — preprint
Geoscience
High-resolution 14C stratigraphy reveals decadal periodicity in stromatolite lamination
Fogret et al. — preprint
Paleogeographic controls on Phanerozoic weathering rates and implications for climate regulation
Graham et al. — Nature Communications
A Martian meteorite that formed ≳4.1 billion years ago samples Mars’ early crust and mantle
Liu et al. — Science
Microbiology
Eukaryotes’ closest relatives are internally simple syntrophic peptidotrophic archaea
Imachi et al. — Nature
Planetary Sciences
The impact of the sulfur allotropes and sulfur hydrides on the Venus cloud chemistry
Lefèvre et al. — Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
New Insights into Venus’s Volatile Cycles Revealed by the Formation of Magnesite and Fluoro–Micas
Port et al. — The Planetary Science Journal
The Fate of Ice Sheets on Near-Synchronously Rotating Land Planets
Silverman et al. — preprint
Coupled Evolution of Earth’s H2 -rich Proto-atmosphere and Oxidized Magma Ocean: Efficient H2 O Production through Dissolved H2 Transport and Atmospheric Buffering of the Magma Ocean Redox State
Yoshida et al. — The Planetary Science Journal