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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

After the Genome IV: Envisioning Biology in the Year 2010

The After the Genome meetings were started in 1995 to help the biological community think about and prepare for the changes in biological research in the face of genomic information. This workshop brings together intellectuals from subject fields far outside of conventional biology with the expectation that this will help focus thinking beyond the immediate future. Hence the subtitle for this year's meeting: "Envisioning Biology in the Year 2010". Accordingly, the organizers brought together a broadly multi-disciplinary group of thinkers and working scientists.

Brent, Roger↗
NASA NTRS2001

Evolution, language and analogy in functional genomics

Almost a century ago, Wittgenstein pointed out that theory in science is intricately connected to language. This connection is not a frequent topic in the genomics literature. But a case can be made that functional genomics is today hindered by the paradoxes that Wittgenstein identified. If this is true, until these paradoxes are recognized and addressed, functional genomics will continue to be limited in its ability to extrapolate information from genomic sequences.

Evolution, Molecular↗
NASA NTRS2003

Research in Computational Astrobiology

We report on several projects in the field of computational astrobiology, which is devoted to advancing our understanding of the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the Universe using theoretical and computational tools. Research projects included modifying existing computer simulation codes to use efficient, multiple time step algorithms, statistical methods for analysis of astrophysical data via optimal partitioning methods, electronic structure calculations on water-nuclei acid complexes, incorporation of structural information into genomic sequence analysis methods and calculations of shock-induced formation of polycylic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds.

Chaban, Galina↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

HRP Data Management Plan

The purpose of Human Research Program Data Management Plan (DMP) is to define the processes and activities required for the overall management of the research data collected and managed by HRP throughout their life cycle. New updates to the Data Management Plan in 2023 include 1. CAPABILITIES AND SERVICES Data Repositories. Principal Investigators (PIs) funded by HRP may be asked to submit data to one of several NASA data repositories. HRP archives data in the NASA Life Sciences Portal (NLSP) that it considers to be unique and high value. This includes data from human subjects in space flight (ISS and commercial flights) and ground analogs to spaceflight; spaceflight tech demos involving humans; human omics data including the microbiome; parabolic flight studies; and the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL). The Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) includes The Ames Life Sciences Data Archive (ALSDA), used to archive non-human biological data (e.g., animal) generated by the Human Research program, and GeneLab, available to HRP PIs to archive non-human omics data. Catalog for search and retrieval. A catalog of non-human HRP life science experiments, with all associated descriptions (mission, payload, hardware, and personnel related information), and biospecimens is provided on the NLSP public web site for search and retrieval. 2. IRB ROLE IN RETURN OF INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH RESULTS The NASA IRB manages the process for incidental findings and for returning results to subjects for studies for which NASA IRB is the IRB of record. Omics data, especially genomics data, may generate information significant to the health of or risk to a research subject. These data potentially hold the keys to understand lifetime risks of chronic diseases, such as cancer, as well as risks associated with exposures common in space flight. 3. UPDATE OF TERMS – IDENTIFIABLE AND ATTRIBUTABLE DATA HRP now follows Federal and NASA policy by using “identifiable” instead of “attributable” for Personally Identifiable Information (PII). 4. POLICY ABOUT INTERNAL NON-RESEARCH USE OF DATA The HRP Chief Scientist grants access to data from HRP-funded research for non-research internal use that includes program management, customer facilitation, strategic planning, and risk research planning. Typical HRP personnel granted access to HRP research data for internal use include the Element Scientist, Subject Matter Experts (SME), and Data/bioinformatics Scientists. If data accessed for Internal Use is provided to an intramural or extramural scientist for hypothesis driven research, all Federal and NASA regulations (e.g., IRB review) regarding human subject research apply.

Data Management Plan↗
NASA NTRS2017

Microbial Characteristics of ISS Environmental Surfaces

The microbiome of environmental surfaces from the International Space Station were characterized in order to examine the relationship to crew and hardware maintenance. The Microbial Observatory (ISS-MO) experiment generated a microbial census of ISS environments using advanced molecular microbial community analyses along with traditional culture-based methods. Since the “omics” methodologies generated an extensive microbial census, significant insights into spaceflight-induced changes in the populations of beneficial and/or potentially harmful microbes were gained. Surface samples were collected from several ISS surface locations from three flight opportunities, and were returned to Earth via the Soyuz TMA-14M or the Space X Dragon capsule. In addition to cultivation methods, viable microbial burden, iTag-based sequencing, and metagenome analyses were carried out. The cultivable microbial bioburden differed by location and sampling event. Exploring the ISS environmental microbiome revealed presence of opportunistic pathogens and antibiotic resistant microbes. Genes involved in ATP binding cassette transporters, two component systems, and beta-lactam resistance were among a diverse set of metabolic and genetic information processing pathways. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) of 50 ISS strains exhibiting resistance to various antibiotics was carried out. The antibiotic resistant genes deduced from the WGS were compared with the resistomes generated directly from the gene pool of the environmental samples. Two unique Aspergillus fumigatus strains isolated from the ISS were characterized and compared to the experimentally established clinical isolates Af293 and CEA10. A virulence assessment in a neutrophil-deficient larval zebrafish model of invasive aspergillosis indicated that both ISSFT-021 and IF1SW-F4 were significantly more lethal compared to Af293 and CEA10. The findings from this Environmental “Omics” project should be exploited to enhance human health and well-being of a closed system. In other words, the ISS-MO research aims to "translate" findings in fundamental research into medical practice (pathogen detection) and meaningful health outcomes (countermeasure development).

Perry, Jay↗
NASA NTRS2004

Life in the Fast Lane for Protein Crystallization and X-Ray Crystallography

The common goal for structural genomic centers and consortiums is to decipher as quickly as possible the three-dimensional structures for a multitude of recombinant proteins derived from known genomic sequences. Since X-ray crystallography is the foremost method to acquire atomic resolution for macromolecules, the limiting step is obtaining protein crystals that can be useful of structure determination. High-throughput methods have been developed in recent years to clone, express, purify, crystallize and determine the three-dimensional structure of a protein gene product rapidly using automated devices, commercialized kits and consolidated protocols. However, the average number of protein structures obtained for most structural genomic groups has been very low compared to the total number of proteins purified. As more entire genomic sequences are obtained for different organisms from the three kingdoms of life, only the proteins that can be crystallized and whose structures can be obtained easily are studied. Consequently, an astonishing number of genomic proteins remain unexamined. In the era of high-throughput processes, traditional methods in molecular biology, protein chemistry and crystallization are eclipsed by automation and pipeline practices. The necessity for high rate production of protein crystals and structures has prevented the usage of more intellectual strategies and creative approaches in experimental executions. Fundamental principles and personal experiences in protein chemistry and crystallization are minimally exploited only to obtain "low-hanging fruit" protein structures. We review the practical aspects of today s high-throughput manipulations and discuss the challenges in fast pace protein crystallization and tools for crystallography. Structural genomic pipelines can be improved with information gained from low-throughput tactics that may help us reach the higher-bearing fruits. Examples of recent developments in this area are reported from the efforts of the Southeast Collaboratory for Structural Genomics (SECSG).

Pusey, Marc L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Life in the fast lane for protein crystallization and X-ray crystallography

The common goal for structural genomic centers and consortiums is to decipher as quickly as possible the three-dimensional structures for a multitude of recombinant proteins derived from known genomic sequences. Since X-ray crystallography is the foremost method to acquire atomic resolution for macromolecules, the limiting step is obtaining protein crystals that can be useful of structure determination. High-throughput methods have been developed in recent years to clone, express, purify, crystallize and determine the three-dimensional structure of a protein gene product rapidly using automated devices, commercialized kits and consolidated protocols. However, the average number of protein structures obtained for most structural genomic groups has been very low compared to the total number of proteins purified. As more entire genomic sequences are obtained for different organisms from the three kingdoms of life, only the proteins that can be crystallized and whose structures can be obtained easily are studied. Consequently, an astonishing number of genomic proteins remain unexamined. In the era of high-throughput processes, traditional methods in molecular biology, protein chemistry and crystallization are eclipsed by automation and pipeline practices. The necessity for high-rate production of protein crystals and structures has prevented the usage of more intellectual strategies and creative approaches in experimental executions. Fundamental principles and personal experiences in protein chemistry and crystallization are minimally exploited only to obtain "low-hanging fruit" protein structures. We review the practical aspects of today's high-throughput manipulations and discuss the challenges in fast pace protein crystallization and tools for crystallography. Structural genomic pipelines can be improved with information gained from low-throughput tactics that may help us reach the higher-bearing fruits. Examples of recent developments in this area are reported from the efforts of the Southeast Collaboratory for Structural Genomics (SECSG).

Review↗
NASA NTRS2003

An in silico assessment of gene function and organization of the phenylpropanoid pathway metabolic networks in Arabidopsis thaliana and limitations thereof

The Arabidopsis genome sequencing in 2000 gave to science the first blueprint of a vascular plant. Its successful completion also prompted the US National Science Foundation to launch the Arabidopsis 2010 initiative, the goal of which is to identify the function of each gene by 2010. In this study, an exhaustive analysis of The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) databases, together with all currently compiled EST sequence data, was carried out in order to determine to what extent the various metabolic networks from phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) to the monolignols were organized and/or could be predicted. In these databases, there are some 65 genes which have been annotated as encoding putative enzymatic steps in monolignol biosynthesis, although many of them have only very low homology to monolignol pathway genes of known function in other plant systems. Our detailed analysis revealed that presently only 13 genes (two PALs, a cinnamate-4-hydroxylase, a p-coumarate-3-hydroxylase, a ferulate-5-hydroxylase, three 4-coumarate-CoA ligases, a cinnamic acid O-methyl transferase, two cinnamoyl-CoA reductases) and two cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenases can be classified as having a bona fide (definitive) function; the remaining 52 genes currently have undetermined physiological roles. The EST database entries for this particular set of genes also provided little new insight into how the monolignol pathway was organized in the different tissues and organs, this being perhaps a consequence of both limitations in how tissue samples were collected and in the incomplete nature of the EST collections. This analysis thus underscores the fact that even with genomic sequencing, presumed to provide the entire suite of putative genes in the monolignol-forming pathway, a very large effort needs to be conducted to establish actual catalytic roles (including enzyme versatility), as well as the physiological function(s) for each member of the (multi)gene families present and the metabolic networks that are operative. Additionally, one key to identifying physiological functions for many of these (and other) unknown genes, and their corresponding metabolic networks, awaits the development of technologies to comprehensively study molecular processes at the single cell level in particular tissues and organs, in order to establish the actual metabolic context.

NASA Program Fundamental Space Biology↗
NASA NTRS2016

The OMICS of Sports & Space: How Genomics is Transforming Both Fields

Join top 10 New York Times Bestseller “The Sports Gene” author David Epstein and NASA Twins Study investigator Christopher E. Mason, Ph.D., in the debate as old as physical competition—nature versus nurture. From personal experience, Epstein tackles the great debate and traces how far science has come in solving this timeless riddle, and how genetics has entered into the field of sports. He’s an investigative science reporter for ProPublica and longtime contributor to Sports Illustrated. Epstein will share insights into performance-enhancing drugs, the lucky genetics that separate a professional athlete from a less talented athlete, and his research into the death of a friend with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM).From an epigenomic viewpoint, Mason examines the benefits and risks for astronauts who face extreme spaceflight conditions and what it means for the future of human space travel. He is an associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, The Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute (BMRI) & The Institute for Computational Biomedicine at Weill Cornell Medicine. He is also part of the Tri-Institutional Program on Computational Biology and a Medicine Fellow of Genomics, Ethics, and Law in the Information Society Project at Yale Law School.The study of omics shows tremendous potential in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of injuries and diseases but genetic discrimination and molecular privacy concerns are raised in both sports and space.

Reeves, Katherine↗
NASA NTRS2011

The Importance of Water for High Fidelity Information Processing and for Life

Is water an absolute prerequisite for life? Life depends on a variety of non-covalent interactions among molecules, the nature of which is determined as much by the solvent in which they occur as by the molecules themselves. Catalysis and information processing, two essential functions of life, require non-covalent molecular recognition with very high specificity. For example, to correctly reproduce a string consisting of 600,000 units of information (e.g ., 600 kilobases, equivalent to the genome of the smallest free living terrestrial organisms) with a 90% success rate requires specificity > 107 : 1 for the target molecule vs. incorrect alternatives. Such specificity requires (i) that the correct molecular association is energetically stabilized by at least 40 kJ/mol relative to alternatives, and (ii) that the system is able to sample among possible states (alternative molecular associations) rapidly enough to allow the system to fall under thermodynamic control and express the energetic stabilization. We argue that electrostatic interactions are required to confer the necessary energetic stabilization vs. a large library of molecular alternatives, and that a solvent with polarity and dielectric properties comparable to water is required for the system to sample among possible states and express thermodynamic control. Electrostatic associations can be made in non-polar solvents, but the resulting complexes are too stable to be "unmade" with sufficient frequency to confer thermodynamic control on the system. An electrostatic molecular complex representing 3 units of information (e.g., 3 base pairs) with specificity > 107 per unit has a stability in non-polar solvent comparable to that of a carbon-carbon bond at room temperature. These considerations suggest that water, or a solvent with properties very like water, is necessary to support high-fidelity information processing, and can therefore be considered a critical prerequisite for life.

Hoehler, Tori M.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Physical and Chemical Toeholds for Exoplanet Bioastronomy

If a search for exoplanet life were mounted today, the likely focus would be to detect oxygen (or ozone) in the atmosphere of a water-bearing rocky planet orbiting roughly 1AU from a G-type star. This appropriately conservative and practical default is necessary in large part because biological input on the question of where and how to look for life has progressed little beyond a purely empirical reliance on the example of terrestrial biology. However, fundamental physical and chemical considerations may impose significant yet universal constraints on biological potential. The liquid water + oxygen paradigm will be considered as an example, with a focus on the question, is liquid water a prerequisite for life? . Life requires a solvent to mediate interactions among biological molecules. A key class of these interactions is molecular recognition with high specificity, which is essential for high fidelity catalysis and (especially) information processing. For example, to correctly reproduce a string consisting of 600,000 units of information (e.g., 600 kilobases, equivalent to the genome of the smallest free living terrestrial organisms) with a 90% success rate requires specificity greater than 10(exp 7):1 for the target molecule vs. incorrect alternatives. Such specificity requires (i) that the correct molecular association is energetically stabilized by at least 40 kJ/mol relative to alternatives, and (ii) that the system is able to sample among possible states (alternative molecular associations) rapidly enough to allow the system to fall under thermodynamic control and express the energetic stabilization. We argue that electrostatic interactions are required to confer the necessary energetic stabilization vs. a large library of molecular alternatives, and that a solvent with polarity and dielectric properties comparable to water is required for the system to sample among possible states and express thermodynamic control. Electrostatic associations can be made in non-polar solvents, but the resulting complexes are too stable to be "unmade" with sufficient frequency to confer thermodynamic control on the system. Such considerations suggest that water, or a solvent with properties very like water, is necessary to support high-fidelity information processing a feature that must be common to all biology and can therefore be considered a critical prerequisite for life.

Hoehler, Tori↗
NASA NTRS2023

Spaceflight Autonomous Multigenerational Microbial Sequencer (SAMMS) in Support of Plant-Growth Systems

As the National Aeronautics and Space Association (NASA) begins to pursue long-duration space flights, they will need to be able to provide astronauts with a nutritious and reliable food source. To meet the administration’s goal of traveling to the Moon and Mars, astronauts will need to begin to grow their own food in space. To protect their food source, extensive monitoring will occur to test for the effects of a space flight environment (e.g., radiation) as well as for early pathogen and disease detection. Genomic sequencing allows for both concerns to be tested on a regular basis. However, NASA’s current sequencer is unable to process plant tissues. Therefore, a novel method for plant DNA extraction using microneedle (MN) patches that will be able to feed into NASA’s existing system, but also require minimal human input is proposed. To support this, the design was broken down into four components (1) MN patch fabrication (2) MN patch extraction, (3) automated sampling motion control, and (4) a processing module. The MN patch is fabricated using a custom mold with conically shaped needles. The mold is filled with Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution and placed in a vacuum desiccator. The mold is left in the vacuum overnight until the patch is dry and ready for use. The protocol was tested with varying pressures, drying times, volume amounts, and preparation methods to determine if highquality needles can be produced. A MN is a method of DNA extraction where the patch is applied to a leaf, the needles penetrate the leaf, breaking the rigid plant cell wall to isolate the DNA. A protocol for this method of extraction was tested to ensure the patch could produce the needed yield and purity. The tests varied by the number of patches, number of applications, and plant type. To automate the MN extraction method, motion control will utilize two separate axis tables which move in the x and y directions. The y-axis table will have an end effector that fits a MN patch and will have the ability to apply the patch to the leaf sample. This end effector will also act as a lid for a downstream processing module. The other axis will position the leaf sample and processing container so that the patch can be applied accurately. The Joint Comprehensive Sequencing System (JCSS) module integrates all the components together. The output of this module feeds into the NASA Charged Information-Storage Polymer Preparation System (CHIPPS) for genomic sequencing. The extraction module operates using a series of syringes and tubing to pump the varying reagents needed for the extraction protocol. The results of the study proved that MN patches are a viable method of DNA extraction. While fabrication of high-quality needles was unsuccessful, the protocol was able to be further developed using centrifugation. The integrated design between the motion control and the JCSS enabled the potential for automation with a complete conceptual design and prototype. Future research and development for this study would include (1) further testing for fabrication (2) expanding the range of plant species compatible with the MN patch, and (3) building a working prototype for the integrated system.

Peter Ling↗
NASA NTRS2010

Utilization of Alternate Chirality Enantiomers in Microbial Communities

Our previous study of chirality led to interesting findings for some anaerobic extremophiles: the ability to metabolize substrates with alternate chirality enantiomers of amino acids and sugars. We have subsequently found that not just separate microbial species or strains but entire microbial communities have this ability. The functional division within a microbial community on proteo- and sugarlytic links was also reflected in a microbial diet with L-sugars and D-amino acids. Several questions are addressed in this paper. Why and when was this feature developed in a microbial world? Was it a secondary de novo adaptation in a bacterial world? Or is this a piece of genetic information that has been left in modern genomes as an atavism? Is it limited exclusively to prokaryotes, or does this ability also occur in eukaryotes? In this article, we have used a broader approach to study this phenomenon using anaerobic extremophilic strains from our laboratory collection. A series of experiments were performed on physiologically different groups of extremophilic anaerobes (pure and enrichment cultures). The following characteristics were studied: 1) the ability to grow on alternate chirality enantiomers -- L-sugars and D- amino acids; 2) Growth-inhibitory effect of alternate chirality enantiomers; 3) Stickland reaction with alternate chirality amino acids. The results of this research are presented in this paper.

Pikuta, Elena V.↗
NASA NTRS2003

The Roads to and from the RNA World

The historical existence of the RNA world, in which early life used RNA for both genetic information and catalytic ability, is widely accepted. However, there has been little discussion of whether protein synthesis arose before DNA or what preceded the RNA world (i.e. the pre-RNA world). We outline arguments of what route life may have taken out of the RNA world: whether DNA or protein followed. The metabolic arguments favor the possibility that RNA genomes preceded the use of DNA as the informational macromolecule. However, the opposite can also be argued based on the enhanced stability, reactivity, and solubility of 2-deoxyribose as compared to ribose. The possibility that DNA may have come before RNA is discussed, although it is a less parsimonious explanation than DNA following RNA.

Dworkin, Jason P.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Diverse delayed effects in human lymphoblastoid cells surviving exposure to high-LET (56)Fe particles or low-LET (137)Cs gamma radiation

To obtain information on the origin of radiation-induced genomic instability, we characterized a total of 166 clones that survived exposure to (56)Fe particles or (137)Cs gamma radiation, isolated approximately 36 generations after exposure, along with their respective control clones. Cytogenetic aberrations, growth alterations, responses to a second irradiation, and mutant frequencies at the Na(+)/K(+) ATPase and thymidine kinase loci were determined. A greater percentage of clones that survived exposure to (56)Fe particles exhibited instability (defined as clones showing one or more outlying characteristics) than in the case of those that survived gamma irradiation. The phenotypes of the unstable clones that survived exposure to (56)Fe particles were also qualitatively different from those of the clones that survived gamma irradiation. A greater percentage (20%) of the unstable clones that survived gamma irradiation than those that survived exposure to (56)Fe particles (4%) showed an altered response to the second irradiation, while an increase in the percentage of clones that had an outlying frequency of ouabain-resistant and thymidine kinase mutants was more evident in the clones exposed to (56)Fe particles than in those exposed to gamma rays. Growth alterations and increases in dicentric chromosomes were found only in clones with more than one alteration. These results underscore the complex nature of genomic instability and the likelihood that radiation-induced genomic instability arises from different original events.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗
NASA NTRS2008

Focused Metabolite Profiling for Dissecting Cellular and Molecular Processes of Living Organisms in Space Environments

Regulatory control in biological systems is exerted at all levels within the central dogma of biology. Metabolites are the end products of all cellular regulatory processes and reflect the ultimate outcome of potential changes suggested by genomics and proteomics caused by an environmental stimulus or genetic modification. Following on the heels of genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics, metabolomics has become an inevitable part of complete-system biology because none of the lower "-omics" alone provide direct information about how changes in mRNA or protein are coupled to changes in biological function. The challenges are much greater than those encountered in genomics because of the greater number of metabolites and the greater diversity of their chemical structures and properties. To meet these challenges, much developmental work is needed, including (1) methodologies for unbiased extraction of metabolites and subsequent quantification, (2) algorithms for systematic identification of metabolites, (3) expertise and competency in handling a large amount of information (data set), and (4) integration of metabolomics with other "omics" and data mining (implication of the information). This article reviews the project accomplishments.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2003

Non-Genomic Origins of Proteins and Metabolism

It is proposed that evolution of inanimate matter to cells endowed with a nucleic acid- based coding of genetic information was preceded by an evolutionary phase, in which peptides not coded by nucleic acids were able to self-organize into networks capable of evolution towards increasing metabolic complexity. Recent findings that truly different, simple peptides (Keefe and Szostak, 2001) can perform the same function (such as ATP binding) provide experimental support for this mechanism of early protobiological evolution. The central concept underlying this mechanism is that the reproduction of cellular functions alone was sufficient for self-maintenance of protocells, and that self- replication of macromolecules was not required at this stage of evolution. The precise transfer of information between successive generations of the earliest protocells was unnecessary and, possibly, undesirable. The key requirement in the initial stage of protocellular evolution was an ability to rapidly explore a large number of protein sequences in order to discover a set of molecules capable of supporting self- maintenance and growth of protocells. Undoubtedly, the essential protocellular functions were carried out by molecules not nearly as efficient or as specific as contemporary proteins. Many, potentially unrelated sequences could have performed each of these functions at an evolutionarily acceptable level. As evolution progressed, however proteins must have performed their functions with increasing efficiency and specificity. This, in turn, put additional constraints on protein sequences and the fraction of proteins capable of performing their functions at the required level decreased. At some point, the likelihood of generating a sufficiently efficient set of proteins through a non-coded synthesis was so small that further evolution was not possible without storing information about the sequences of these proteins. Beyond this point, further evolution required coupling between proteins and informational polymers that is characteristic to all known forms of life. The emergence of such coupling must be postulated in any scenario of the origin of life, no matter whether it starts with RNA or proteins. To examine the evolutionary potential of non-genomic systems, a simple, computationally tractable model, which is still capable of capturing the essential features of the real system, has been studied computationally. Both constructive and destructive processes have been introduced into the model in a stochastic manner. Instead of assuming random reaction sets, only a suite of protobiologically plausible reactions has been considered. Peptides have been explicitly considered as protoenzymes and their catalytic efficiencies have been assigned on the basis of biochemical principles and experimental estimates. Simulations have been carried out using a novel approach (The Next Reaction Method) that is appropriate even for very low concentrations of reactants. Studies have focused on global autocatalytic processes and their diversity.

Pohorille, Andrew↗
NASA NTRS2002

Who or What? Self-Replication and Function-Reproduction in the Origin of Life

In this presentation, we will present results on the fundamental properties of two classes of replicating systems: autocatalytic replicators that reproduce exact copies of a template molecule, and function reproducers that maintain a set of essential functions without replicating the identities of the functional moieties. We will describe the stability and behavior in-the-large of autocatalytic replicators. Most importantly, we have found no sharp distinction between an autocatalytic and a non-autocatalytic domain. We will also present a new derivation of von Kiedrowski's square-root rate law. Function - reproducers are proposed as an important component of protocells and we will present theoretical results on a simple model system that incorporates known peptide biophysics. For a wide range of parameters, we have shown that this type of system can improve its overall performance, even in the absence of any method for information storage. This type of system improvement is defined to be non-genomic evolution.

New, Michael H.↗