Title
Automated exploration of prebiotic chemical reaction space: progress and perspectives
Date Issued
01 November 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Blue Marble Space Institute of Science
Publisher(s)
MDPI
Abstract
Prebiotic chemistry often involves the study of complex systems of chemical reactions that form large networks with a large number of diverse species. Such complex systems may have given rise to emergent phenomena that ultimately led to the origin of life on Earth. The environmental conditions and processes involved in this emergence may not be fully recapitulable, making it difficult for experimentalists to study prebiotic systems in laboratory simulations. Computational chemistry offers efficient ways to study such chemical systems and identify the ones most likely to display complex properties associated with life. Here, we review tools and techniques for modelling prebiotic chemical reaction networks and outline possible ways to identify self-replicating features that are central to many origin-of-life models.
Volume
11
Issue
11
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Química orgánica
Ingeniería de materiales
Bioquímica, Biología molecular
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85118181053
Source
Life
ISSN of the container
20751729
Source funding
John Templeton Foundation
SETI Institute
Sponsor(s)
Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (BMSIS) for organizing the YSP2020 program (S.S., A.A., R.C., H.J.C.II). H.J.C.II would like to thank the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) and the ELSI Origins Network (EON) for financial support during the initial development of this work. EON was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation. S.S. would like to acknowledge the SETI Forward Award from the SETI Institute. R. C. wishes to acknowledge FONDECYT (Convenio n°208-2015-FONDECYT) for his Master scholarship. The authors would also like to acknowledge helpful discussions on the subject and proofreading of the draft possible through the insights of Johanna Huhtassari, Cole Mathis, Kjell Jorner and Harrison Brodsky Smith. The authors acknowledge Huan Chen for the support in collecting experimental FT-ICR-MS data for Figure 2. The authors would also like to thank the editor for the invitation to submit to this issue.
The authors would like to thank the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (BMSIS) for organizing the YSP2020 program (S.S., A.A., R.C., H.J.C.II). H.J.C.II would like to thank the Earth-Life Science Institute (ELSI) and the ELSI Origins Network (EON) for financial support during the initial development of this work. EON was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation. S.S. would like to acknowledge the SETI Forward Award from the SETI Institute. R. C. wishes to acknowledge FONDECYT (Convenio n?208-2015-FONDECYT) for his Master scholarship. The authors would also like to acknowledge helpful discussions on the subject and proofreading of the draft possible through the insights of Johanna Huhtassari, Cole Mathis, Kjell Jorner and Harrison Brodsky Smith. The authors acknowledge Huan Chen for the support in collecting experimental FT-ICR-MS data for Figure 2. The authors would also like to thank the editor for the invitation to submit to this issue.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus