Molecular Origins of Life, Munich 2024

Europe/Berlin
LMU Munich - Great (Große) Aula

LMU Munich - Great (Große) Aula

Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1 80539 Munich Germany
Description

The Molecular Origins of Life, Munich conference addresses one of the most fundamental questions of science: How could life originate? With 24 talks by renowned scientists accompanied by panel discussions and poster sessions, this international conference brings together scientists from a wide range of disciplines, namely: astronomy, bio-/chemistry, bio-/physics, geosciences and theoretical chemistry and physics. Together, we pave the way towards answering some of the most pertinent questions of humankind: What were the conditions on early Earth? Which chemicals could serve as precursors for the synthesis of living systems? How did the very first genetic material develop? How could Darwinian evolution emerge? What were the first metabolic pathways? The conference's aim is to represent and to discuss the state of the art in the Origin of Life field. 

The Molecular Origins of Life Munich 2024 is organized by DFG funded Collaborative Research Center 392 Molecular Evolution in Prebiotic Environments. Attendance to the event is free of charge.

Registration is mandatory to be able to attend the event.


    • 8:25 AM
      Opening Remarks
    • Session A
      • 1
        Spatial and temporal dynamics of fluid-rock interactions promoting organic synthesis in the terrestrial lithosphere
        Speaker: Bénédicte Menez (IPG, Paris)
      • 2
        Engineering a synthetic protocell with RNA origami
        Speaker: Kerstin Göpfrich (Heidelberg U.)
      • 3
        Before cells: Prebiotic compartments based on phase separation and molecular self-assembly
        Speaker: Christine Keating (Penn State U.)
    • Session A: Discussion
    • 10:05 AM
      Coffee Break
    • Session B
      • 4
        A Mechanistic Approach to Prebiotic Chemistry: Coenzymes, Chirality, and Catalysis
        Speaker: Robert J. Mayer (TUM)
      • 5
        Probing the Origin of the Genetic Code by High-Throughput Sequencing
        Speaker: Andres Jäschke (Heidelberg U.)
      • 6
        Phase separation directs polymerization and selects sequences
        Speaker: Christoph Weber (Universität Augsburg, DE)
    • Session B: Discussion
    • Poster Session I
    • Session C
      • 7
        Cyclicphospholipids in the emergence of primitive (functional) protocells
        Speaker: Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy (Scripps Research)
      • 8
        The role of crystallization in prebiotic polymerization processes
        Speaker: Judit E. Šponer (IBP)
      • 9
        Atmospheric HCN production and the emergence of the RNA world on early Earth
        Speaker: Ralph Pudritz (McMaster University)
    • Session C: Discussion
    • 3:05 PM
      Coffee Break
    • Session D
      • 10
        Is the Enantiomeric Excess in Meteorites (truly) the Missing Link to Understanding Biomolecular Homochirality?
        Speaker: Cornelia Meinert (U. Côte d'Azur)
      • 11
        Possible roles of peptides in early life
        Speaker: Klára Hlouchová (Charles U.)
      • 12
        Empowering Nucleic Acid Evolution with Expanded Genetic Alphabets
        Speaker: Elisa Biondi (FfAME)
    • Session D: Discussion
    • 5:05 PM
      Closing Remarks
    • 8:25 AM
      Opening Remarks
    • Session E
      • 13
        Role of helicity in the nonenzymatic template-directed primer extension of DNA
        Speaker: Amanda Ellis (University of Melbourne, AU)
      • 14
        Hadean Earth Recipes
        Speaker: Stephen J. Mojzsis (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, HU)
      • 15
        Organic cofactors as connection between minerals and protometabolism?
        Speaker: Martina Preiner (MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology)
    • Session E: Discussion
    • 10:05 AM
      Coffee Break
    • Session F
      • 16
        Nucleic Acid Replication Enabled by Wet-Dry Cycles: A Robust Solution to the Product Inhibition Problem
        Speaker: Martha Grover (Georgia Tech)
      • 17
        Exploring the habitability of ocean moons by in situ analysis of emitted ice grains
        Speaker: Frank Postberg (FU Berlin)
      • 18
        Impacts of Environmental Parameters on Prebiotic Organic Reactions in Hydrothermal Systems
        Speaker: Laurie Barge (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA)
    • Session F: Discussion
    • Poster Session II
    • Session G
      • 19
        Towards Recreating a Metabolic Origin of Life
        Speaker: Joseph Moran (U. Ottawa)
      • 20
        Toward an autonomous “artificial cell” in 2D
        Speaker: Roy Bar-Ziv (Weizmann Institute of Science, IL)
      • 21
        Shaping early life: the chemistry of primitive compartments
        Speaker: Claudia Bonfio (U. Strasbourg)
    • Session G: Discussion
    • 3:05 PM
      Coffee Break
    • Session H
      • 22
        Challenging the Discontinuous Synthesis Model to Make Prebiotic Polyribonucleic Acid
        Speaker: Steven Benner (FfAME)
      • 23
        Template-based copying in dynamic combinatorial libraries out of equilibrium
        Speaker: Job Boekhoven (TUM, Germany)
      • 24
        Self-Assembly and Non-Enzymatic Polymerization of Plausible Proto-Nucleotides: A Model for Monomers and Polymers that Preceded RNA
        Speaker: Nicholas Hud (Georgia Institute of Technology, USA)
    • Session H: Discussion
    • 5:05 PM
      Closing Remarks