70 years ago, 3 papers appeared in nature under the title ‘Molecular structure of nucleic acids’. In an article in Nature today (link at end) Nathaniel Comfort and I shed new light on ‘what Watson and Crick really took from Rosalind Franklin’. This thread summarises our findings. 1/23

What happens when a random pool of DNA sequences replicate? What sequence patterns emerge? Do initial biases propagate? Or does the final pool hold no memory of where it came from? We are happy to share our newest preprint that addresses these questions: tinyurl.com/2322ukv2

7 Mind-bending thought Experiments from the History of Physics. A Visual Thread 👇

The #psychedelics LSD and psilocin directly bind to the BDNF receptor, TrkB, and this is required for effects on #antidepressant-like behavior in mice New from Eero Castren Rafael Moliner Plinio Casarotto @UH_Neuro Helsinki Brain & Mind nature.com/articles/s4159…

Exciting to share our preprint on prebiotic RNA ligation! 🧬 We bridge the length scales from 4- to 100-mers by alkaline ligation with low Mg2+ and no organic catalyst. Copying proceeds with high fidelity (90%). tinyurl.com/33wj9evm Sreekar Wunnava Avinash (+Braun Lab)

Ready for the #InternationalChemistryOlympiad IChO2023 #Zurich? Participants from approx. 90 countries will attend the opening today, moderated by Prof. Helma Wennemers. We chatted a bit with her in advance. Check out the full interview on: youtube.com/watch?v=awRTNi…

📣 You can now apply to the Max Planck School Matter to Life and join us in 2024! 🔥 Whether you apply to the MSc to PhD Direct Track Program or our ten-week paid research internships - we are looking forward to your application! (Deadline: 1 Dec, 2023) mattertolife.maxplanckschools.org/application

How could the genetic code have evolved? Why is it a three-lettered code? What could be the rationale for the specificity between codons and amino acids? We tried to address these questions in our study. Have fun reading!

Ou paper titled "Sequence self-selection by cyclic phase separation" just got published in PNAS. 🎉 pnas.org/doi/abs/10.107… giacomo_bART Mesoscopic Physics of Life (MPol) - Weber Group

The emergence of #life on Earth: LMU is launching the new Collaborative Research Centre TRR 392 “Molecular #Evolution in Prebiotic Environments”, funded by @dfg and founded on the research of @emergenceoflife. lmu.de/en/newsroom/ne…

#Peptide #amyloid in the #originoflife #RNA #geneticcode

#Peptide #amyloid in the #originoflife #RNA #geneticcode

📢 Dear colleagues and friends @emergenceoflife will continue as @crc392molevo! Stay tuned for the announcement of the webpage and MOM2024....

What happens when a pool of random DNA sequences replicate? What sequence patterns emerge? Do initial biases propagate? Or does the final pool hold no memory of where it came from? We address these questions in our newly published NAR paper: doi.org/10.1093/nar/gk… @NAR_Open

We are hiring! Please consider a PhD in a four year running multi-disciplinary team effort.... with winter schools, monthly meetings - and state of the art lab projects on how Life could have emerged on the early Earth/other planets. Details: portal.graduatecenter.uni-muenchen.de/ocgc/crc392

Our new study in J. Am. Chem. Soc. shows that templated ligation with 2′,3′-cyclic phosphates efficiently replicates long RNA strands in prebiotic conditions. No catalysts needed, just simple solutions and alkaline pH! Adriana Serrão BraunLab #RNAReplication #PrebioticChemistry

Life’s vital chemistry may have begun in hot, cracked rock. Molecules including amino acids and DNA nucleotides become concentrated as they travel through the cracks. newscientist.com/article/242524…

A paper in nature shows that heat flows through thin, crack-like geo-compartments purify previously mixed compounds and enhance their reactivity, providing a selective mechanism for separating molecules relevant to the chemical origins of life. go.nature.com/3TLiODV

Online Conference | Molecular Origins of Life – Munich 2025 Join us for talks & posters across disciplines. 📅 July 16–18 ❗ Poster registration deadline: 30 June 💻 Online & free 🔗 Registration is open now: lmu.de/mom2025 #OriginOfLife #Conference (1/2)

Rethinking life’s origins: Amino acids boost RNA formation 100× under prebiotic conditions—no exotic chemistry. A molecular duet, not RNA’s solo act. Read more: rdcu.be/epIfX Sreekar Wunnava BraunLab Molecular Evolution in Prebiotic Environments #OriginOfLife #PrebioticChemistry #RNAWorld