Life on Earth possesses an exceptional ability to self-reproduce, which, even on a simple cellular level, is driven by complex biochemistry. But can self-reproduction exist in a biochemistry-free environment?
A study by researchers from Harvard University demonstrated that the answer is yes.
The researchers designed a non-biochemical system in which synthetic cell-like structures form and self-reproduce by ejecting polymeric spores.
Several key moments in Earth’s history help us humans answer the question “How did we get here?” These moments also shed light on the question “Where are we going?” and offer scientists deeper insight into how organisms adapt to physical and chemical changes in their environment.
Among them is an extended evolutionary occurrence over 2 billion years ago, known as the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). This marked the first time that oxygen produced by photosynthesis—essential for the survival of humans and many other life forms—began to accumulate in significant amounts in the atmosphere.
If you traveled back in time to before the GOE (more than 2.4 billion years ago), you would encounter a largely anoxic (oxygen-free) environment. The organisms that thrived then were anaerobic, meaning they didn’t require oxygen and relied on processes like fermentation to generate energy. Some of these organisms still exist today in extreme environments such as acidic hot springs and hydrothermal vents.
A research team led by Prof. Kang Yanbiao from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has developed a supercapacitor (SC)-assisted electrophotocatalysis for the efficient defluorination of the polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at low temperatures.
A research team led by Associate Prof. Wang Anting from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) proposed a method for multidimensional manipulation of polarization and phase based on a single geometric phase element. They managed to generate and control high-order vector vortex beams (VVBs).
The study is published in Laser & Photonics Reviews.
Since lasers emerged, multidimensional control of laser light fields has always been at the forefront of optical research. Among them, VVBs with various physical characteristics under the coordinated control of spin-orbit angular momentum (OAM) are highly favored.
Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and the Technical University of Munich have developed a new microscope that significantly improves how bioluminescent signals in living cells can be observed.
The system, known as QIScope, is built around a highly sensitive camera technology capable of detecting extremely low levels of light. With sharper image resolution, a wider field of view, and integration with other imaging methods, QIScope opens new opportunities for studying living systems in greater detail and over longer periods.
The work is published in the journal Nature Methods.
Scientists at University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland have developed a powerful new tool for finding the next generation of materials needed for large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computing.
The significant breakthrough means that, for the first time, researchers have found a way to determine once and for all whether a material can effectively be used in certain quantum computing microchips.
The major findings have been published in Science and are the result of a large international collaboration which includes leading theoretical work from Prof. Dung-Hai Lee at the University of California, Berkeley, and material synthesis from professors Sheng Ran and Johnpierre Paglione at Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Maryland, respectively.
Researchers from the Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik present new experimental and theoretical results for the bound electron g-factor in lithium-like tin, which has a much higher nuclear charge than any previous measurement. The paper is published in the journal Science.
The experimental accuracy reached a level of 0.5 parts per billion. Using an enhanced interelectronic QED method, the theoretical prediction for the g-factor reached a precision of 6 parts per billion.
Theoretical study was performed earlier for the cell model of a charged porous membrane based on Onsager’s approach and the result was calculation of all electrokinetic coefficients. Experimental dependences of electroosmotic permeability, conductivity, and diffusion permeability of some perfluorinated membranes on electrolyte concentration were simultaneously and quantitatively described using exact analytical formulae based on the same set of physicochemical and geometrical parameters. It is shown here that for the developed cell model of the ion–exchange membrane, the Onsager principle of reciprocity is violated—the coupled cross kinetic coefficients are not equal.
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