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Project Reports

• Benner – Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.2 7.1 7.2

• Isotopic and Molecular Approaches to Microbial Ecology and Biogeochemistry (The Evolution of Organic Matter)

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Ellington – Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry

  During the past year the Ellington Lab has focused on the design of self-evolving nucleic acid enzymes. We have designed a cross-catalytic amplification system based on the fast and efficient 10-23 deoxyribozyme (Ellington and Levy, 2003)

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.4 4.2 6.2

• Molecular Survey of Microbial Diversity in Hypersaline Ecosystems, Ecogenomics

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.4 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Studies of Organic Matter and Water in Meteorites

  The mechanisms that produced chondrules and CAIs were important, energetic processes in the early Solar System that would also have led to complex gas-phase chemistry.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 3.1 3.2

• Recruitment of Proteins to Serve New Functions

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.2 5.1

• Ghadiri – Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.2 6.2

• Hydrothermal Organic Synthesis

  Over the past year Cody and colleagues have continued their research into hydrothermal protometabolic chemistry.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1 3.2 4.2

• Rebek – Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry

  Chemical amplification is characteristic of living systems, and is necessary for increased sensitivity, responsiveness, and self-replication

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.2 6.2

• Genomic Evolution and the Tree of Life

  Horizontal gene transfer greatly accelerates genome evolution and Innovation. We are comparing the genomes of eight prokaryotes and related horizontal gene transfer (HGT) to environmental and genomic properties of the organisms and their habitats.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.4 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3

• Theoretical Studies of Hydrothermal Synthesis Reactions

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.2 3.1 3.2 4.2 5.1 5.3 6.1

• Origin of the Eukaryotic Cell: Implications From Bacterial Tubulin in the Division Verrucomicrobia

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.4 4.2

• Isotopic and Molecular Tracers of Life

  Task 1. Molecular Spectroscopic Investigations into Ancient Biochemistry (Cody, Fogel, Hazen)

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 6.1 7.1 7.2

• Early Metabolic Pathways

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.4

• Switzer – Self-Reproducing Molecular Systems and Darwinian Chemistry

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2

• Evolution of Biocomplexity From an Ancient Autotrophic Lineage

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.3 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.3 6.1

• Organic Synthesis at High Temperature

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1 3.2 6.1

• A New Molecular Recognition Instrument for Astrobiological Applications

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 3.1 3.2 4.1 5.1 6.2 7.1

• Evolution of Proteins

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 3.4 5.1

• Initiation of an RNA World

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2

• Environment of Prebiotic Earth and the Origin of Life: Experimental Approach – Schoonen

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1 3.2

• Studies of Hydrogen Cyanide Chemistry

  The role of hydrogen cyanide polymer chemistry in the origin of life has provoked much speculation

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.1 3.2

• Cosmochemistry of Carbonaceous Meteorites

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 3.1 3.2 7.1

• Microbial Mat Communities

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1