Molecular Origins of Life, Munich 2026

Sitzung

Session A

11.06.2026, 08:30

LMU Munich - Great (Große) Aula

29. Poster Pitches I

11.06.26, 08:30

15. Meet your Prokaryotic Ancestors: On the Role of Asgard Archaea in the Evolution of Eukaryotes

Christa Schleper (University of Vienna)

11.06.26, 09:00

Christa Schleper

The question about the emergence of complex life forms on Earth remains one of the big mysteries in evolution and is directly linked to the origin of life, because shortly after the formation of LUCA (the last universal common ancestor) there was a deep split into two major branches, the Bacteria and Archaea. For about 2 billion years, both these groups evolved and...

9. Natural selection of RNA protocells

Philippe Nghe (Ecole Polytechnique)

11.06.26, 09:25

Philippe Nghe

Understanding how Darwinian selection emerged in prebiotic systems remains a central challenge in origins-of-life research. In this talk, I will present an experimental model of RNA-based coacervate protocells in which compartment survival is directly coupled to internal ribozyme activity. Using an autocatalytic ribozyme, we show that RNA-catalyzed elongation reactions modify...

14. Interplay between Peptide Amyloids and Nucleic Acids in the raise of molecule complexity

Roland Riek (ETH Zürich)

11.06.26, 09:50

Roland Riek

Life is a complex phenomenon resulting from dynamic and multifaceted interactions among various molecules, primarily nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids. Here, the chemical evolution to life is explored under the hypothesis of the interplay between peptide amyloids, nucleic acids and fatty acid membranes. Peptide amyloids, with their repetitive structure composed of...

31. Moderated Discussion - Session A

11.06.26, 10:15

30. Poster Pitches II

11.06.26, 10:35