Molecular Origins of Life, Munich 2022

Sitzung

Session F

17.06.2022, 10:30

(talks will be broadcasted) (Literaturhaus München)

72. Geological Disequilibrium Systems on Early Earth: Pathways to a vivid planet?

Bettina Scheu (LMU Munich, DE)

17.06.22, 10:30

Life as we know it could most likely not have emerged in absence of active geological processes and the environments shaped by them. The quest of the most probable environment(s) is amongst the most challenging and heavily debated topics on the emergence of life. A key challenge remains however to identify environments favorable for a plethora of reactions allowing to progress from the...

60. Computer Simulations of Non-Enzymatic Template-Directed RNA Synthesis

Paul Higgs (McMaster U, CA)

17.06.22, 10:55

The earliest form of RNA replication may have been non-enzymatic, without requiring polymerase ribozymes. Template-directed synthesis of complementary strands forms double strands that are unlikely to separate unless temperature cycling drives melting. If there are multiple copies of identical sequences, re-annealing of existing strands prevents subsequent cycles of copying. However, if there...

57. Probing the emergent behavior of RNA pools in silico

Ulrich Gerland (TU Munich, DE)

17.06.22, 11:20

Pools of RNA oligomers are believed to play a central role for the spontaneous emergence of living systems. In suitable non-equilibrium environments, the RNA strands in such pools are thought to hybridize and dehybridize, ligate and break, such that they generate longer RNA molecules, which fold and function as ribozymes, ultimately enabling molecular evolution. However, concrete scenarios and...