OoL digest — March 30

New OoL Digest — 24 papers this week! 🧬☄️ Highlights: a complete set of nucleobases found on asteroid Ryugu, first detection of glycolamide in a hot molecular core, amino acids linking RNA copying to vesicle formation, and ecological modelling of hycean worlds. #OriginsOfLife #Astrobiology

New episode! Fool's gold has some surprising history (and future potential) that you'd never expect! Check it out here:
youtu.be/L-lef-xjeHI

#history #art #science #geology #goldrush #greentech #originsoflife #ancientcivilizations #interesting #documentary #militaryhistory #ww1 #ww2 #watercolour

Asteroid Samples Contain Complete Set Of DNA Building Blocks All five DNA bases found in asteroid samples, confirming life’s core chemistry exists beyond Earth in space material.

🧬 All 5 DNA Bases Found In Asteroid Material 🧬

A G C T U confirmed inside samples from Ryugu. Life’s core chemistry exists beyond Earth. #Space #DNA #Asteroid #Science #OriginsOfLife

Full article: www.abovethenormnews.com/2026/03/25/d...

OoL digest — March 23

This week's OoL digest is out! 🧪🪐 20 papers — ancient deltas spotted by radar in Jezero crater, azotosomes tested in Titan lake fluids, isotopic ratios in comet 3I/ATLAS, dissipation-driven selection as a formal OoL framework, and memory in synthetic living constructs. #OriginsOfLife #Astrobiology

Dr Thaller at the #Wisconsin #Science #Festival on #asteroids n #OriginsofLife

youtu.be/3Ge-TRcxqbg?...

Simply #Fascinating #Informative

@startrekfamily.bsky.social @astrokatie.com @jerilryan.bsky.social @mikeokuda.bsky.social @chucknicecomic.bsky.social @drerinmac.bsky.social

🖖

Resurrected 3.2-Billion-Year-Old Enzyme Could Unlock the Origins of Life By reconstructing ancient nitrogen-processing enzymes, scientists are uncovering new clues about how early life survived on a very different Earth.

Resurrected 3.2-Billion-Year-Old Enzyme Could Unlock the Origins of Life #Science #Biology #MolecularBiology #OriginsOfLife #AncientEnzymes #BiologicalResearch

scitechdaily.com/resurrected-3-2-billion-...

A complete set of canonical nucleobases in the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu - Nature Astronomy Samples returned from the asteroid Ryugu contain all five canonical nucleobases (A, G, C, T and U). Their presence in Ryugu and Bennu supports the hypothesis that carbonaceous asteroids contributed to...

A complete set of canonical nucleobases in the carbonaceous asteroid (162173) Ryugu
#OriginsOfLife #asteroids #scienceSky

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

OoL digest — March 16

This week's OoL digest is out! 🧪🪐 27 papers — Assembly Theory for exoplanet life detection, nanopore sequencing & life's origins, microbes growing in Martian regolith, wet-dry cycling of nucleotides in Icelandic hot springs, and light-directed protein evolution. #OriginsOfLife #Astrobiology

#OriginsOfLife #scienceSky

The newly discovered tiny QT45 ribozyme, shown here in an artist’s depiction, helped researchers explore the origins of life. Image credit: Elfy Chiang, microscopy image by James Attwater.

Short strands of #RNA nearly self-replicate, recreating a possible step in the dawn of #life. In PNAS Journal Club: https://ow.ly/XjtL50YsUIS

#OriginsofLife #ribozyme #RNAWorldHypothesis

OoL digest — March 9

New OoL digest! 🔬🌌 28 papers this week — amino acids in asteroid Bennu samples, error correction evolving from a need for speed, extremophiles surviving ejection from Mars, mobile- and stagnant-lid tectonics on Hadean Earth, and AI-driven genome design with Evo 2. #OriginsOfLife #Astrobiology

OoL digest — March 2

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

Liquid–liquid phase separation as a driver of abiogenesis and evolution The origin of life may have emerged through physical mechanisms that enable molecular organization and self-assembly. Building on Alexander Oparin’s concept of coacervate droplets, liquid–liquid phase...

Liquid–liquid phase separation as a driver of #abiogenesis and #evolution

#OriginsOfLife

www.academia.edu/3064-9765/3/...

A symbiotic origin of the ribosome? Abstract. The origin of life is one of the great mysteries of science. Of the multiple unsolved problems, the origin of the translation system (the means b

A symbiotic origin of the ribosome?
#OriginsOfLife #scienceSky

academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...

OoL digest — February 23

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

OoL digest — February 16

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

Prebiotic Gels as the Cradle of Life The figure illustrates a prebiotic gel on the early Earth's surface, serving as a platform where chemical evolution toward life is presumed to occur.

Prebiotic Gels as the Cradle of Life
#OriginsOfLife

chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand The emergence of a chemical system capable of self-replication and evolution is a critical event in the origin of life. RNA polymerase ribozymes can replicate RNA, but their large size and structural ...

A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand
#OriginsOfLife #RNAworld

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

OoLEN Diversity and Inclusion Survey 2026 This survey is intended to be taken by anyone who considers themselves to be an early career researcher, working on topics related to OoL. It is a repeat of the OoLEN Diversity and Inclusion Survey…

📊 OoLEN Diversity & Inclusion Survey 2026
Are you an early-career researcher in origins of life? We want to hear about your experiences.
This anonymous survey helps us understand DEI in our community.
⏱️ ~5-8 min to complete
#OriginsOfLife #Academia #DEI

OoL digest — February 9

New OoL digest! 🧬🪐 22 papers this week — virus-like particle self-assembly, self-replicating fuels via autocatalysis, Hadean mobile- and stagnant-lid tectonics, habitability of exomoons around free-floating planets, and pre-genetic semantic information in protocells. #OriginsOfLife #Astrobiology

IOoL 2026 - Interdisciplinary Origins of Life Early Career Meeting - Indication of Interest OoLEN (Origin of Life Early-career Network) is an international post-disciplinary network connecting early-career researchers exploring how life emerged on Earth and beyond. Since 2018, OoLEN has…

📣 IOoL 2026 is coming to Tokyo!
The next Interdisciplinary Origin of Life Meeting will be September 9-11, 2026 at ELSI in Japan!
Join early-career researchers from across disciplines to present work, exchange ideas, and build community.
👉 Indicate your interest below!
#OriginsOfLife #Astrobiology

OoL digest — February 2

New OoL digest! 🔬🌌 25 papers this week — sulfur-bearing cyclic hydrocarbons in space, self-replicating catalysts, sugar enantiomers in Orgueil meteorite, Europa's ice structure, and peptide catalysts replacing enzymes. #OriginsOfLife #Astrobiology #Astrochemistry #Exoplanets

Giant Virus Discovered in Japanese Pond May Hint at Multicellular Life's Origins Scientists in Japan have discovered a previously unknown giant virus, offering new insight into this enigmatic category of viruses – and possibly also into the origins of multicellular life.

Giant Virus Discovered in Japanese Pond May Hint at Multicellular Life's Origins #Science #Biology #EvolutionaryBiology #GiantVirus #Multicellularity #OriginsOfLife

www.sciencealert.com/giant-virus-discovered-i...

Proteins before planets: How space ice may have created the 1st building blocks of life "We used to think that only very simple molecules could be created in these clouds. But we have shown that this is clearly not the case."

Proteins before planets: How space ice may have created the 1st building blocks of life www.space.com/space-exploration/search...

#Reality #OriginsOfLife #OurUniverse

Light-to-electricity nanodevice found in cyanobacteria reveals how early life utilized sunlight to make oxygen An international team of scientists have unlocked a key piece of Earth's evolutionary puzzle by decoding the structure of a light-harvesting "nanodevice" in one of the planet's most ancient lineages of cyanobacteria.

Ancient cyanobacteria's light-harvesting nanodevice revealed! 🤯 Unlocking secrets of life’s evolution & Earth’s past. ✨🌿 #OriginsOfLife

Source: phys.org/news/2025-05-electricity...

Mcrolightning generated by the oceans may have sparked life itself. My Medium article dives deeper.

A century of origin-of-life theory may be wrong.
Not lightning in the sky—but invisible microlightning in ocean spray may have sparked life itself. Tiny sparks, everywhere. Paradigm shattered.

🔗 Link to Medium article in bio

#Science #OriginsOfLife #Abiogenesis #Physics #Astrobiology

A new possibility for life: Study suggests ancient skies rained down ingredients Earth's atmosphere might have contributed to the origin of life more than previously thought. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, CU Boulder researchers and collaborators reveal that billions of years ago, Earth's early sky might have been producing sulfur-containing molecules that were essential ingredients for life.

✨Ancient Earth's sky brewed life's ingredients? 🧪New research suggests sulfur molecules from billions of years ago may have sparked life! 🤯 #OriginsOfLife

Source: phys.org/news/2025-11-possibility...

Scientists Uncover Gel-Like Structures That May Have Sparked Life on Earth Surface-bound gels may have offered the structure and chemistry needed for life to take hold on Earth—and possibly elsewhere. How did life first take shape? A group of scientists from Japan, Malaysia,...

Scientists Uncover Gel-Like Structures That May Have Sparked Life on Earth #Science #Biology #OriginsofLife #OriginsOfLife #Geochemistry

“Space gum” and sugars discovered in asteroid Bennu samples, NASA reveals
#SpaceScience #AsteroidBennu #OriginsOfLife
www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7PD...

An Exploding Star Just Changed What We Know About the Origins of Life Scientists using the XRISM X-ray satellite have uncovered unexpectedly high amounts of chlorine and potassium in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, solving a long-standing mystery about the origins of...

An Exploding Star Just Changed What We Know About the Origins of Life #Science #Space #Astrobiology #StarExplosions #OriginsOfLife