🚀 April 12 is the International Day of Human Space Flight — 65 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first human in orbit!
Every leap beyond Earth deepens our quest to understand life's origins. From Mars to ocean worlds, exploring the cosmos and asking "how does life begin?" are inseparable stories!
📢 Deadline extended! The call for abstracts for #IOoL26 (September 9–11, 2026, ELSI Tokyo) is now open until May 2. Details & submission: forms.gle/xMQBi1YgXsnXzo4A9
Don't miss your chance to join the conversation on how life began! 🌍🔬
This week @cp-cellrepphyssci.bsky.social sky.social published a two-part review by @oolen.bsky.social about cross-disciplinary collaboration and methods in the field. It took a few years to get this over the line - @colemathis.bsky.social did an amazing job coordinating so many authors.
The Origins of Life is an inspiring field, bringing many disciplines together. We recently wrote a review that aims at promoting #collaboration , or so we hope.
Here are some voices behind it his process:
www.cell.com/cell-reports...
@oolen.bsky.social
⏳ Only 10 days left to submit your abstract for IOoL 2026!
Don't miss your chance to present your work at OoLEN’s in-person conference and share your latest research with the #OriginsOfLife community!
Submit here 👇 forms.gle/xMQBi1YgXsnXzo4A9
(happy April 1st!)
🚨 NEW PREPRINT: First detection of cannabinoid molecules (THC & CBD) in an exoplanetary atmosphere! 420 hrs of JWST data reveal K2-18b as the "most chill" civilization within the Cannabis Habitable Zone.
arxiv.org/abs/2603.29700
⏳ 2 weeks left! Abstract deadline for IOoL 2026 is April 15.
Present your work at ELSI in Tokyo this September, meet fellow early-career OoL researchers, and it's free to attend.
Submit your abstract: forms.gle/xMQBi1YgXsnXzo4A9
Working on origins of life and looking for your people? OoLEN is a free, interdisciplinary network for early-career researchers 🌍 Conferences, jobs, and a community that gets what you do. Join us → oolen.org/join 🚀
⏳ 3 weeks left to submit your abstract for IOoL 2026!
Join us in Tokyo, Sept 9–11 at ELSI for OoLEN's biannual meeting for early-career origin of life researchers.
📅 Deadline: April 15
💡 Free registration
Don't wait — submit now: forms.gle/xMQBi1YgXsnXzo4A9
March 23 — World Meteorological Day 🌦️
Atmospheres do a lot of heavy lifting for habitability — regulating climate, transporting molecules, and shaping the conditions for chemistry. They're also central to the biosignature debate: how do we tell a sign of life from a false positive? 🔭
📸nat.geo.
March 22 — World Water Day 💧
Water isn't just essential for life as we know it — it's a solvent, a transport medium, and a key player in the energy landscapes that may have driven early chemistry. No discussion of habitability is complete without it 🧪
📸greenpeace
Calling all early-career OoL researchers! 🧪
IOoL 2026 will take place at ELSI in Tokyo, Sept 9–11. Registration is free — submit your abstract by April 15!
forms.gle/xMQBi1YgXsnXzo4A9
March 21 — International Day of Forests 🌲
Forests aren't just trees — they're planetary-scale chemistry engines, cycling carbon, releasing aerosols, and shaping entire ecosystems. Understanding how life transforms its environment is key to understanding how it got started 🌎
📸foodtank
📢 IOoL 2026 is heading to Tokyo! 🇯🇵
Join us September 9–11 at ELSI for the Interdisciplinary Origin of Life Meeting for Early Career Researchers.
🗓️ Abstract deadline: April 15, 2026
🎓 Open to students, postdocs & early-career PIs
💡 Free registration!
Submit yours → forms.gle/xMQBi1YgXsnXzo4A9
Curious about how life began? So are we 🔬 OoLEN is a global community for early-career origins of life researchers. We share opportunities, organize meetings, and connect people across disciplines. Whether you're in chemistry, biology, or planetary science — there's a spot for you! 🔗oolen.org/join
Meet a member! Take a look at Val Karavaeva's scientific interests 🦠 #earlymicrobialevolution #bioenergetics #LUCA #comparative genomics
If you’re an early-career researcher interested in the origins of life, we’d love to hear from you! 🧬✨
Join us for discussions on Discord and Discourse, connect with fellow researchers, and share your ideas!
Get involved here 👉 oolen.org 🌍
The call for abstracts for IOoL 2026 — the Interdisciplinary Origin of Life Meeting — is coming soon! 🧬 This year we're heading to Japan for a week of deep, interdisciplinary discussion on how life began. Stay tuned for details 🇯🇵
🌍 Today we celebrate the United Nations World Wildlife Day (WWD). We recognize the extraordinary diversity of life on our planet.
Every species is the result of a long evolutionary history, shaped by its ecosystem and engaged in a continuous process of change and adaptation. 🧬🌱
📸shutterstock
New OoL digest! 🌍🧪 18 papers this week — the selfish ribosome hypothesis, mirror symmetry breaking via crystallization, peptide formation on olivine from space radiation, a symbiotic origin for the ribosome, and flexible paths to multicellularity. #OriginsOfLife #Astrobiology
Grad student, postdoc, or early-career researcher working on origins of life? OoLEN is a community built for you 🧬 We connect early-career researchers across chemistry, biology, planetary science, and beyond — sharing job postings, conferences, and opportunities. Come join us! 🔗 oolen.org/join
IOoL 2026 is happening in Japan this year and the call for abstracts is right around the corner 🗾 If you're working on origins of life — from prebiotic chemistry to complex systems to astrobiology — this is your meeting. More details coming very soon! 🔬
Are you an early-career researcher interested in the origins of life? 🌌 🧬 Join OoLEN for networking with amazing people that is also doing research in how life begins 🧪✨
Link here: www.oolen.org
Meet a member! Take a look at Silke Asche's bio card to know more about her research and interests ✨️ @silkeasche.bsky.social #OoL #biosignatures #massspectrometry #assemblytheory
New OoL digest! 🧬🔬 22 papers this week — a ribozyme that synthesizes itself, carbonated rocks in Jezero crater on Mars, fuel-driven catalytic templating, Asgard archaeal origin of microtubules, and oxygen metabolism in descendants of the archaeal-eukaryotic ancestor. #OriginsOfLife #Astrobiology
🚀 Five years ago today, #NASA's Perseverance rover landed on Mars. It is searching for signs of ancient life and collecting rock samples. One day, those samples may come back to Earth and help us learn if life ever existed on Mars. #Mars2020 #Astrobiology
New OoL digest! 🧪🌍 23 papers this week — a polymerase ribozyme that can copy itself, synthetic cells with DNA replication + lipid synthesis, amino acids in asteroid Bennu samples, chemical habitability shaped by core formation, and molecular complexity in space. #OriginsOfLife #Astrobiology
Save the date! 🇯🇵✨
▶️ IOoL2026 — Interdisciplinary Origin of Life Meeting for Early Career Researchers
📍 Tokyo, Japan
🗓️ September 9–11, 2026
Indication of Interest form below! #IOoL26 #Japan #OriginOfLife #Astrobiology
📝 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
🎂 Happy #DarwinDay! Darwin showed us how life changes over time, but how did life start? That's the focus of OoLEN members' research! From simple chemistry to living systems, the origin of life connects to everything that came after. 🦠🐪