Origins Sunday: Making nucleic acids may have been child's play on early earth

Below is a link to an article describing some interesting research showing that simple chemicals like hydrogen cyanide HCN, and hydrogen sulfide H2S, in the presence of ultraviolet light can react to produce the precursors of nucleic acids.  These chemical precursors were common on the early earth.


http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/03/researchers-may-have-solved-origin-life-conundrum


After todays Origin Sunday, I am going to stop doing the short posts and concentrate on the full length weekly articles.  Those will go out every Wednesday.

Origins Sunday: Early life liked it salty!

Cool link below describing research that shows how a certain set of 10 amino acids will fold when exposed to high salt concentrations, like those found naturally in certain regions of the early earth.  This may have allowed proteins to be functional before the cellular machinery to fold proteins had yet evolved.  Our earliest ancestors may have been halophiles (salt lovers).  Unfortunately, many of us retain that salt loving trait, and perhaps that's why I love pizza so much?!? - craving the salt that my Archean ancestors loved so!


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130405064027.htm

Origins Sunday: Evolution of life's first proteins

Check the link below for some cool research in the origin of life on earth!!
Evidence of key ingredient during the dawn of life