The fundamental roles that peptides and proteins play in today's biology makes it almost
indisputable that peptides were key players in the origin of life. Insofar as it is appropriate to …

The origin of life is a fascinating, unresolved problem whose deciphering would have
important scientific, epistemological and social implications. Over time, philosophers and …

The process by which chemistry can give rise to biology remains one of the biggest
mysteries in contemporary science. The de novo synthesis and origin of life both require the …

Self‐replication is a fundamental concept. The idea of an entity that can repeatedly create
more of itself has captured the imagination of many thinkers from von Neumann to …

The study of complex mixtures of interacting synthetic molecules has historically not
received much attention from chemists, even though research into complexity is well …

The two-volume Encyclopedia of Supramolecular Chemistry offers authoritative, centralized
information on a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field. User-friendly and high-quality …

The sinking of particulate organic matter from ocean surface waters transports carbon to the
ocean interior,, where almost all is then recycled. The unrecycled fraction of this organic …

A self-replicating molecule directs the covalent assembly of component molecules to form a
product that is of identical composition to the parent. When the newly formed product also is …

α-Amino acids are easily accessible through abiotic processes and were likely present
before the emergence of life. However, the role they could have played in the process …

The origin of homochirality in living systems is often attributed to the generation of
enantiomeric differences in a pool of chiral prebiotic molecules,, but none of the possible …