CRC 392 - Molecular Evolution in Prebiotic Environments

Thanks to the interdisciplinary composition of our group, we had very fruitful discussions during lectures and poster sessions. But science was present also while skiing and snowboarding: We have marked the Brixen mountains with a double helix in the snow.
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Snowboard tracks forming a double helix pattern in fresh snow on a sunny mountain slope under a bright blue sky.

Two researchers wearing name badges discuss a project indoors, gesturing with pens during an informal exchange at the winter school venue.

Group photo of CRC 392 participants standing together in front of a hotel in Brixen, with mountains and a clear blue sky in the background.

Science from morning till night.
The CRC 392 met again for our winter school in Brixen. The participants arrived with their latest research findings and left with new ideas for experiments and promising collaborations.
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Science runs best on good conversations and good food. Dieter Braun delivered both with an excellent Kaiserschmarrn. Full stomachs, inspired minds, and the feeling that this is exactly how science should be done together.
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#Science #OriginOfLife #Meeting

Theory met practice during a lab tour through Dieter Braun’s lab. We learned how temperature gradient micro chambers are constructed and used to experimentally study RNA polymerization.
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Our guest Shawn Erin McGlynn guided us through enzyme classes, electron transfer pathways, and the role of thiobiochemistry. His talk sparked a lively discussion that quickly turned into concrete ideas for new cross-disciplinary experiments.
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A speaker presents a lecture titled “Thiobiochemistry inside and outside the cell” in a seminar room, sitting at a desk in front of a projected slide while the audience listens.

A researcher wearing gloves explains a complex laboratory setup with tubes, valves, and electronic components, holding a small device while standing next to the experimental apparatus.

A man prepares Kaiserschmarrn on a large flat griddle, cutting the fluffy pancake into pieces with spatulas in a laboratory kitchen setting.

At our Monthly Meeting in Munich, Bill Orsi took us deep into Earth’s early history. We discussed banded iron formations and the big question of how they formed during the Great Oxidation Event. Plenty to think about.
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Our guest speaker, Ebbe Andersen (the inventor of the first DNA origami box!), explained the logic behind the RNA World Hypothesis and how RNA origami could enable us to fold functional molecules from scratch.

Kerstin Göpfrich introduced the challenge of RNA design, which is more complex than designing DNA or proteins. The solution: pyFuRNAce, a new RNA origami design tool. From membrane-breaking RNA centipedes to RNA-based nanopores and droplets: RNA might be our next programmable hardware.

Scientist Ebbe Andersen gives a lecture on the RNA World Hypothesis, with a colorful cartoon slide showing ancient ribozymes and molecular evolution.

People gathered in a narrow lab corridor illuminated by red lighting, listening to a presentation about ongoing RNA research.

Group photo of conference attendees standing in front of a scenic view of Heidelberg, surrounded by autumn-colored hills and dramatic skies.

Monthly meeting in Heidelberg!
This time, we delved into the intersection of synthetic biology and the origin of life.
#OriginOfLife #RNAOrigami #Science

Magmatic immiscibility provides phosphate for prebiotic chemistry Volcanic immiscibility provides a key mechanism to enrich phosphate, fueling prebiotic chemistry.

How could magmatic liquid immiscibility help to solve early Earth's phosphate problem? In a great collaboration with Daniel Weller and @irissmokers.bsky.social, we show how phosphate can be enriched in volcanic melts to fuel prebiotic chemistry.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Big questions, bold ideas, and a setting you won’t forget. Zsófia Meggyesi, a CRC PhD student, captured the spirit of the week through her lens — thank you!
Grazie mille, Venice!
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One of the highlights was a thought-provoking panel on the definition of life with Diego Puricelli, who is both a priest and a medical biotechnologist. We discussed: So how should we define life? And how important is it to communicate science before the breakthroughs — not only afterwards.
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Conference room with students seated, listening to a speaker presenting under a screen titled “Poster Sessions” at Venice International University.

People standing on a wooden pier looking out over the water under a cloudy sky in Venice.

View of the Grand Canal in Venice with Santa Maria della Salute cathedral in the background and boats on the water.

Nighttime view of a quiet canal in Venice, with boats docked and lights reflecting on the water.

Frontiers in Nanoscience!
We spent a week at the @cens-lmu.bsky.social conference in Venice – on the beautiful island of San Servolo.
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#OriginOfLife #Science #Venice

The environment with the most votes is 🥁 ... Hydrothermal vents. Now we only have to wait a few more years until science finds out what the right answer is 😅

Close-up of the hydrothermal vents section of the booth, with explanatory texts and photos pinned above voting tubes already containing some blue balls. The Superbrain balloon is visible in the background.

A visitor wearing a red shirt examines the interactive origin-of-life installation, which displays different environments like “Meteorites” and “Nuclear Geyser” for visitors to vote on.

A person places a blue voting ball into the tube labeled “Radioaktiver Geysir / Nuclear Geyser” at the CRC discussion booth.

Final voting results at the CRC Superbloom installation: Tubes for “Icefields,” “Meteorites,” “Nuclear Geyser,” “Hydrothermal Vents,” “Volcanic Ponds,” and “Divine Power” filled with different amounts of blue balls—Hydrothermal Vents in the lead.

CRC goes Superbloom! 🎉
Where did life first emerge? This was the topic of our new discussion island at the Superbloom Festival. Visitors discovered the various theories about prebiotic environments and could choose the one that made the most sense to them.
#OriginOfLife #Superbloom #Science

This week, I learned something remarkable: Stanley Miller ran an experiment that stayed frozen for 25 years.
❄️When thawed, the vial contained building blocks of life: amino acids and nucleobases.

Probably the longest-running experiment ever! 🧪 #OriginOfLife #Ice #Science

Following the presentations, we explored the labs and enjoyed a jam session featuring piano, electric, and acoustic guitar.
The weather cleared just in time for a barbecue, providing the perfect end to the day. Thanks to the Richert group for the warm hospitality!
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After a warming lunch, Max von Delius gave a talk titled “Putting Phosphorus-Based Reaction Cycles to Work in Chemically-Driven Molecular Machines.”
This brought back memories of organic chemistry lectures and sparked lively discussions about synthesis strategies.
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Clemens Richert and Max von Delius stand in front of a chalkboard during a talk. One of them is pointing at a complex diagram involving reactions, while the other listens. Notes and chemical structures are written across two chalkboards. A few people watch from the audience.

Three people play music in a lab room: one plays the piano, one stands with an electric guitar, and another sits playing an acoustic guitar. Behind them are shelves with scientific magazines and posters, blending science and a relaxed musical atmosphere.

This time, the CRC monthly meeting took us to Stuttgart!
We visited Clemens Richert's lab and started the day with a fascinating introduction to nucleotide reaction cycles. Rather than zooming in on single reactions, his group studies reaction networks.
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Front view of a THINKY ARE-250 laboratory mixer with a sticker of Bernie Sanders saying, "I am once again asking to not make a mess with PDMS!" The meme humorously reminds users to be careful with silicone mixing.

A sticker of a dog sitting at a microscope with the caption, "I have a ruff idea of what I'm doing," is taped to the lab bench near a microscope and a bundle of clear tubing. The meme adds a playful touch to the lab workspace.

A printed meme taped to lab equipment shows a four-panel comic of Gru from "Despicable Me." It reads: "Mom said: 'Get good education, so you don’t end up as a dishwasher' → Educate yourself to work in a laboratory → Still washing dishes → Still washing dishes." The meme playfully reflects the reality of lab chores.

You know the people in the lab have a sense of humour when they have memes hanging around.

#Science #Memes #OriginOfLife

Color-coded conference schedule for MOM 2025, taking place online from July 16–18. Each day features sessions of scientific talks (on topics like RNA replication, photochemistry, coacervates, and origins of life), followed by “Meet the Speaker” breakout discussions and poster sessions. The schedule includes speaker names, affiliations, and time slots. A note at the bottom provides time zone info and explains the session format.

"Unbeing dead isn't being alive." – E. E. Cummings, as quoted by Jasna Brujic in her presentation today.
If you're still thinking about that, sign up for our online conference all about the molecular origins of life!

🔗 indico.physik.uni-muenchen.de/event/537/

#OriginOfLife #Science #Conference

The result: a precisely controllable world where synthetic droplets can form, dissolve, and be revived.
👨‍🔬 Yinqing’s favorite part? Testing how the geometry of the tunnels and reaction chamber shapes internal flow.
🔗 Want to dive deeper? Niederholtmeyer Lab: hn-lab.org
#OriginOfLife #Science
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Close-up of a mounted microfluidic chip on a microscope stage. Multiple transparent tubes are connected to the chip for fluid input.

Two gel halves are carefully aligned by hand under a microscope, down to just 10 µm precision. Once the gel layers are perfectly aligned and stacked, tiny holes are punched to insert needles: some feed the reaction chamber, others control the gel vaults.
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Close-up view of a microfluidic device placed in a foil-covered Petri dish. The device has blue coloration and defined square sections.

Room with yellow lighting, showing a 'Photoresist Processing' poster on the wall. A red and black instrument is on the right. A small cabinet with a digital clock and lab items stands in the corner, along with a stool and a trash bin nearby.

How do you build something so tiny and complex? In a cleanroom!
The tunnels are formed using a wafer: a glass mold with microscopic grooves. Since these molds would be destroyed by UV light, the room is lit with yellow light. (New to me: there was a sticky foil at the entrance to trap dust)
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To control fluid flow, the chips include side tunnels filled with water. When pressure is applied, the water lifts a soft gel layer that blocks specific channels, acting like a flexible gel gatekeeper.
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A researcher is seated at a laboratory workstation, looking into a microscope connected to a computer. On the monitor, a microfluidic chip is visible. Various tubes and electronic equipment are arranged on the desk.

PhD student Yinqing Li gave us a behind-the-scenes lab tour of the microfluidic “torture chamber” (the microfluidic device featured in a post before).
These tiny devices aren’t made of glass: they’re made of a silicone gel shaped under the microscope.
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Two scientists are lying on a solidified lava field at Fagradalsfjall, Iceland. The dark basaltic rock shows different textures. Behind them rises a grassy slope, part of the volcanic terrain shaped by recent eruptions.

Day 7 in Iceland:
We explored the Fagradalsfjall lava field, which has had several eruptions since 2021. The basaltic flows contained not only sparkling minerals but were also a surprisingly nice place to lie down.
🌋 More: crcgoesiceland.wordpress.com/day-7
#Volcano #OriginOfLife #Iceland

Close-up view of a jagged, transparent ice block on the black sand of Diamond Beach in Iceland. The ice, shaped like a sculpture, glistens against a cloudy sky and the cold ocean in the background, with floating icebergs visible in the distance.

Day 6 in Iceland:
Have you ever heard of Diamond Beach in Iceland? 💎
Read our blog to learn how glaciers carve out stunning ice sculptures and how volcanic eruptions beneath the ice can shape entire coastlines.
👉 crcgoesiceland.wordpress.com/day-6/
#Geology #DiamondBeach #Iceland

A smooth, light-gray rock surface at the coast of Eystrahorn, Iceland, shows long cracks and sharp edges. Dark volcanic sand lies at the base, and a few hikers are visible in the distance, climbing along the slope under a partly cloudy blue sky.

Day 5 in Iceland:
At Eystrahorn, we explored ancient magma chambers now exposed by erosion. These special rocks have been formed by magma and cooled under the surface.
🌋 Read more about our hike and the science behind it:
🔗 crcgoesiceland.wordpress.com/day-5/
#Iceland #Geology #OriginOfLife

Interior of a cave in Iceland, showing a calm, blue geothermal pool surrounded by rugged volcanic rock. The water reflects the cave ceiling, creating a mirror-like effect. Warm light illuminates part of the rock in the background.

🇮🇸 Day 4 in Iceland:
Ever heard of pseudo-craters or lava pipes?
Curious where this magical cave photo was taken?
Find out on our blog 👉 crcgoesiceland.wordpress.com/day-4/
#OriginOfLife #Iceland #ScienceAdventure #Science