Science Links

A collection of links to interesting articl;es on the origin of life and other things, updated as and when I come across them.

Start of the Universe

https://www.edge.org/conversation/alan_guth-the-inflationary-universe
 

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Building blocks of life

In their paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the team describes how they were able to map reactions that produced two and three-carbon sugars, amino acids, ribonucleotides and glycerol—the material necessary for metabolism and for creating the building blocks of proteins and ribonucleic acid molecules and also for allowing for the creation of lipids that form cell membranes.

In their paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the team describes how they were able to map reactions that produced two and three-carbon sugars, amino acids, ribonucleotides and glycerol—the material necessary for metabolism and for creating the building blocks of proteins and ribonucleic acid molecules and also for allowing for the creation of lipids that form cell membranes.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-03-chemists-riddle-life-began-earth.html#jCp

In their paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the team describes how they were able to map reactions that produced two and three-carbon sugars, amino acids, ribonucleotides and glycerol—the material necessary for metabolism and for creating the building blocks of proteins and ribonucleic acid molecules and also for allowing for the creation of lipids that form cell membranes.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-03-chemists-riddle-life-began-earth.html#jCp

In their paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the team describes how they were able to map reactions that produced two and three-carbon sugars, amino acids, ribonucleotides and glycerol—the material necessary for metabolism and for creating the building blocks of proteins and ribonucleic acid molecules and also for allowing for the creation of lipids that form cell membranes.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-03-chemists-riddle-life-began-earth.html#jCp

In their paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the team describes how they were able to map reactions that produced two and three-carbon sugars, amino acids, ribonucleotides and glycerol—the material necessary for metabolism and for creating the building blocks of proteins and ribonucleic acid molecules and also for allowing for the creation of lipids that form cell membranes.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-03-chemists-riddle-life-began-earth.html#jCp

http://phys.org/news/2015-03-chemists-riddle-life-began-earth.html

The paper itself:
http://www.nature.com/nchem/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nchem.2202.html

 Here are some more:

Experiments performed by ETH scientists have shown that it is remarkably easy for protein-like, two-dimensional structures—amyloids—to form from basic building blocks. This discovery supports the researchers' hypothesis that primal life could have evolved from amyloids such as these.

Experiments performed by ETH scientists have shown that it is remarkably easy for protein-like, two-dimensional structures—amyloids—to form from basic building blocks. This discovery supports the researchers' hypothesis that primal life could have evolved from amyloids such as these.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-09-protein-like-primordial-soup.html#jCp

Experiments performed by ETH scientists have shown that it is remarkably easy for protein-like, two-dimensional structures—amyloids—to form from basic building blocks. This discovery supports the researchers' hypothesis that primal life could have evolved from amyloids such as these.

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-09-protein-like-primordial-soup.html#jCp

http://phys.org/news/2016-09-protein-like-primordial-soup.html

A team of researchers with members from Syracuse University and the University of California, has found that naturally forming peptides can self-assemble into catalysts. In their paper published in the journal Nature Chemistry, the team describes how they designed seven peptides, allowed the resulting molecules to self-assemble into amyloids and then noted how many of them could catalyze the hydrolysis of esters.

http://phys.org/news/2014-03-short-peptides-self-assemble-catalysts.html


 Research led by Kuhan Chandru and Jim Cleaves from the Earth-Life Science Institute at Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, has shown that reactions of alpha-hydroxy acids, similar to the alpha-amino acids that make up modern proteins, form large polymers easily under conditions presumed prevalent on early Earth. These alpha-hydroxy acid polymers may have aided in the formation of living systems on early Earth.


https://phys.org/news/2018-06-reveals-simple-chemical-life-earth.html

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Dino-feathers

Their work, which included samples from many stages in the evolution of feathers, bolstered the findings of other scientists who've suggested that dinosaurs (winged and otherwise) had multicolored and transparent feathers of the sort you might see on birds today.

http://io9.com/5840854/dinosaur-feathers-discovered-in-canadian-amber

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Cult Psychology

This is quite different. it is a Wiki page about a group of social psychologists investigating how cults deal with failed prophecies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Prophecy_Fails

The group of believers, headed by Keech, had taken strong actions to indicate their degree of commitment to the belief. They had left jobs, college, and spouses, and had given away money and possessions to prepare for their departure on a flying saucer which was to rescue the group of true believers. She claimed to have received a message from a fictional planet named Clarion. These messages revealed that the world would end in a great flood before dawn on December 21, 1954.

The prophecy failed, but within hours the group had rationalised that God had saved the world, and so became even more convinced that they were right.

Afternoon, December 21. Newspapers are called; interviews are sought. In a reversal of its previous distaste for publicity, the group begins an urgent campaign to spread its message to as broad an audience as possible.

Anyone else see a link to certain other religions?

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Persecution

This article has a list of scientists who have been fired for believing the evolution is true, as a contrast to the rather dubious claims made about scientists fired for denying evolution.

http://lamp-of-diogenes.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/james-tour-and-intelligent-designs.html