PCE3

See the request below from the AI-Astrobiology Initiative. You can fill out the questionnaire at this link: forms.gle/Fmv6Jm6zEKBg...

For this edition of PCE3 #AskAnAuthor, we asked Dr. Nanishankar V. Harohally about ribose and chemical gardens. Check out the author responses below!
pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1...

t.co/iPByz3VwmD

The next LIFE Seminar is tomorrow, August 5th, 11am EDT. Don't miss it!
www.lifercn.org/events/life-...

The next PCE3 Newsletter is going out soon!
Do you have something you'd like to share with the PCE3 community ? Let us know using this form!
forms.gle/hfeEsHU5us3i...

PCE3 is is looking to assemble its Early Career Committee, apply by August 15th!
www.prebioticchem.org/_files/ugd/f...

Don't forget to join the NASA ROSES 2025 informational webinar. TODAY, 12.30pm EST
nasaevents.webex.com/nasaevents/j...

Laminae As Potential Biosignatures - Astrobiology Laminae are millimeter-scale features in rocks created by physiochemical processes that can be influenced by the presence and activities of communities of organisms that occur as biofilms and microbia...

Laminae As Potential Biosignatures
astrobiology.com/2025/07/lami... #astrobiology #biosignature #fossils

AGU Annual Meeting | AGU25 AGU's annual meeting, the largest gathering of Earth and space scientists, convenes 25,000+ attendees from 100+ countries to share research and connect with friends and colleagues. Join us for AGU25 i...

The deadline for #AGU25 is less than a week away! Make sure to submit your abstract by July 30th if you plan to present.

www.agu.org/annual-meeting

Submit answers ahead of time (and during) here:
nasa.cnf.io/sessions/ss4...

On July 29th at 12:30pm ET, NASA's Planetary Science Division (PMD) and Research and Analysis (R&A) Programs will be hosting a webinar regarding this year's Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES).

Join link: nasaevents.webex.com/nasaevents/j...

Astrobiology Spectral Database Workshop 2025 Are you interested in organics for the origin of life, returned samples, life detection, or machine learning? Do you have an interest in or experience with database development?

The Astrobiology Spectral Database (ASD) virtual workshop is quickly approaching! It will take place on July 23rd from 10am to 4pm CT. Registration is free but required to receive a meeting link. More information can be found in the link below:

www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/asd...

Future Leaders of Ocean Worlds (FLOW) will be hosting an astrobiology early career resources and information meeting on July 29th at 2PM ET. Tune in to meet other early-career astrobiologists and learn about different resources available to you!

Zoom Meeting ID: 915 3925 6030

Brings up an interesting question: how would we name new life forms if discovered elsewhere in the Solar System?

Geochemical Settings at an Alkaline Hydrothermal Vent Stabilized Ribose: Evidence from Chemical Garden and Other Simulation Experiments The origin of life is an unsolved mystery. The discovery of a hydrothermal vent starting from black smoke to a lost city has sparked a spotlight on a hydrothermal vent as the place of origin of life having all the prerequisite settings including a proton gradient, thermal energy, mineral catalysts, and simple constituent molecules for the emergence of life. On the other hand, the RNA world hypothesis, which is an offshoot of the primordial soup theory, presupposes ribose availability and its stability as the primary milestone for abiotic synthesis of RNA. We demonstrate through chemical garden and other simulation experiments stabilization of ribose under a geochemical setting of deep ocean hydrothermal vents occurring via acidic ocean water interaction with brucite and calcite chimneys. The early Earth scenario, wherein boric acid-containing seawater interacts with hydrothermal vent materials such as CaCO3, Mg(OH)2, and Ca(OH)2 along with ribose, has been modeled utilizing chemical garden and prebiotic simulation experiments (NMR scale as well as synthetic scale). The performed experiments reveal formation of metal borate, and its subsequent role in stabilization of ribose is demonstrated via concrete evidence consisting of FT-IR, 1H NMR, and 11B NMR spectra.

Geochemical Settings at an Alkaline Hydrothermal Vent Stabilized Ribose: Evidence from Chemical Garden and Other Simulation Experiments | ACS Earth and Space Chemistry pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Selection of Ribofuranose‐Isomer Among Pentoses by Phosphorylation with Diamidophosphate Diamidophosphate phosphorylates the four pentoses under mild aqueous conditions. Ribofuranosyl-cyclicphosphates are formed efficiently, while the other three pentoses react slowly to form furanosyl- ...

New publication from Dr. Harold A. Cruz, Prof. Dr. Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy!
Selection of Ribofuranose‐Isomer Among Pentoses by Phosphorylation with Diamidophosphate onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Atomic-level insights into nanoclay for prebiotic nucleoside phosphorylation Kaolinite nanoclay has long been recognized as playing a key role in the origin of life. However, the interaction of kaolinite (Kaol) with biomolecule…

New paper alert!
Atomic-level insights into nanoclay for prebiotic nucleoside phosphorylation www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Artificial Seawater Models Affect Sorption of Adenine and Related Molecules Sorption onto Montmorillonite: Implications for Early Mars and Earth Oceans The adsorption of biomolecules onto mineral surfaces plays a crucial role in the context of prebiotic chemistry, as originally proposed by John Desmond Bernal. According to Bernal’s hypothesis, clay m...

Artificial Seawater Models Affect Sorption of Adenine and Related Molecules Sorption onto Montmorillonite: Implications for Early Mars and Earth Oceans | ACS Omega pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Phosphorylation of nucleosides by P-N bond species generated from prebiotic reduced phosphorus sources - Communications Chemistry The challenge of the ‘Phosphate Problem’ in prebiotic chemistry limits the formation of key phosphorylating agents. Here, the authors demonstrate that ammonolysis of pyrophosphite yields amidophosphit...

Check out this recent publication by Krishnamurthy, Pasek and coworkers on prebiotic phosphorylation of nucleosides!

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Don't forget to tune in to the next Ask an Astrobiologist this Tuesday June 17th at 1 pm ET: Examining Earth as an Exoplanet & the Search for Life Beyond with Dr. Amber Young! astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astro...

PhD or Postdoc positions to recreate early evolution as part of the ERC Synergy Grant BubbleLife are open! To learn more go to: www.biosystems.physik.uni-muenchen.de/join_us/inde...

2) Testing Origins of Life Theories w/HWO
Document: t.co/xnhm4cHxxY
Endorsement Form: t.co/0rY9XEmqmN

All HWO white papers: t.co/YYWXEnMhxg

HWO_SSSCD_Prebiosignatures SSSCDD: “Prebiosignatures” with HWO Sukrit Ranjan1, Danica Adams2, Michael Wong, Martin Schlecker, Nicholas Wogan, Jessica Weber 1University of Arizona Lunar & Planetary Laboratory 2Harvard University...

Community endorsement & comments are solicited for two origins Science Case Development Documents for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO):
1) Prebiosignatures w/HWO
Document: t.co/sQ1Yb0dLcR
Endorsement Form: t.co/dZbANcKKKA

Trinucleotide substrates under pH–freeze–thaw cycles enable open-ended exponential RNA replication by a polymerase ribozyme - Nature Chemistry Models of abiotic RNA replication suffer from inherent product inhibition arising from the high stability of RNA duplexes. Now, it has been shown that RNA trinucleotide substrates undergoing simple ph...

Just out in Nature Chemistry this week: trinucleotides inhibit RNA strand reannealing, enabling ribozyme-catalyzed replication of longer RNA sequences and free sequence variation in replicating RNA pools.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

NASA CUTS: There is still time to make your voice heard.
Two ways to take action:
Write to your members of congress: planetary.org/advocacy-act...
AND sign the petition:
planetary.org/advocacy-act...

Happy Memorial Day!
Don't forget to tune in tomorrow, May 27th, for the next episode of Ask an Astrobiologist, featuring The Colorful World of Microbes & the Search for Life on Exoplanets, with Dr. Ligia Fonseca Coelho!
Starts at 12.00pm, PDT/3.00pm EST
astrobiology.nasa.gov/ask-an-astro...

ISSOL 2nd online seminar will be tomorrow, May 23rd, at 14.00 UTC. Dr. Tagami (RIKEN, Japan), and Dr. Urayama (Tsukuba University, Japan) presenting: “Unique RNA polymerases & replicons from hot springs“
If you are a member, follow the link you received in your email to attend!

Advocacy Action Center The Planetary Society is organizing a new space constituency that is educated, empowered, and loud.

www.planetary.org/advocacy-act...
www.planetary.org/advocacy-act...

NASA is facing historic cuts. As these must first be negotiated in Congress, there is time to advocate against these cuts.
Luckily, The Planetary Society has made it extremely easy to advocate to your member(s) of Congress. Please, click the links below and TAKE ACTION!