Darwin’s theory of evolution believes that biological evolution is a process of natural selection. This theory has been supported by much evidence, but the internal biological mechanism is not clear. Here, I elaborat...Darwin’s theory of evolution believes that biological evolution is a process of natural selection. This theory has been supported by much evidence, but the internal biological mechanism is not clear. Here, I elaborate on the cycle of potassium resources on the earth and the biological utilization and efficiency, which may be the core mechanism of natural selection and affect the evolution of organisms and the development of human society.展开更多
In the present paper we have made an attempt to investigate the importance of the concepts of dynamical stability and complexity along with their interelationship in an evolving biological systems described by a syste...In the present paper we have made an attempt to investigate the importance of the concepts of dynamical stability and complexity along with their interelationship in an evolving biological systems described by a system of kinetic (both deterministic and chaotic) equations. The key to the investigation lies in the expres-sion of a time-dependent Boltzmann-like entropy function derived from the dynamical model of the system. A significant result is the determination of the expression of Boltzmann - entropy production rate of the evolving system leading to the well-known Pesin-type identity which provides an elegant and simple meas-ure of dynamical complexity in terms of positive Lyapunov exponents. The expression of dynamical com-plexity has been found to be very suitable in the study of the increase of dynamical complexity with the suc-cessive instabilities resulting from the appearance of new polymer species (or ecological species) into the original system. The increase of the dynamical complexity with the evolutionary process has been explained with a simple competitive model system leading to the “principle of natural selection”.展开更多
Modified classical Boltzmann entropy as generalized entropy, then proposed Maximum Generalized Entropy Principle fusing physics and biology, and established a new model for biological origin and evolutions based on th...Modified classical Boltzmann entropy as generalized entropy, then proposed Maximum Generalized Entropy Principle fusing physics and biology, and established a new model for biological origin and evolutions based on this principle, finally took protein evolution for an example to analyze. The model provided some reference for biological complexity research.展开更多
The author thinks that the endless and timeless Universe is a permanent substance and energy flow as well as motion of celestial systems and bodies. Celestial bodies may have physical and biological life. Our Earth ha...The author thinks that the endless and timeless Universe is a permanent substance and energy flow as well as motion of celestial systems and bodies. Celestial bodies may have physical and biological life. Our Earth has both lives which can be divided into different periods of time. Its physical life can mainly be characterized by the atomic evolution, sterility, appearance of water and abiotic chemical reactions. Essence of the biological life is the existence of the living unit. Biological life of our Globe started with the first living unit/microorganism which began to influence on its environment which is a closed system for substance, flora, creature and man but not for hit of celestial bodies and for arrival of different kinds of energy from the space as well as for radiation of heat. The biological life of our Earth can be divided into four parts: before photosynthesis, before mankind, before 1778 and after the industrial revolution.展开更多
Biological information is one of the most important characteristics of life, and it enables life to evolve to higher complexity and adapt to the environment by mutation and natural selection. However, the origin of th...Biological information is one of the most important characteristics of life, and it enables life to evolve to higher complexity and adapt to the environment by mutation and natural selection. However, the origin of this information recording and retrieval system remains a mystery. To understand the origin of biological information will lead us to one step closer to understand the origin of life on earth. Biological information is encoded in DNA and translated into protein by the ribosome in all free living organisms. The information has to be translated into proteins to carry out its biological functions, so the evolution of the ribosome must be integrated with the development of biological information. In this article, I propose that the small ribosomal subunit evolved from a ribozyme that acted as an RNA helicase in the ancient RNA world, and the involvement of tRNAs and the large ribosomal subunit evolved to enhance the helicase activity and to overcome the higher energy require-ment for high GC content RNA helices. This process could have developed as a primitive recording mechanism: since Watson-Crick base paring is a natural property of RNA, each time the proto-small ribosomal subunit came to a particular GC-rich helix, tRNA-like molecules and the proto-large ribosomal subunit would have to be engaged to generate the helicase activity, and consequently the same polypeptide would be synthesized as a by-product. Simple recorded messages then evolved into useful biological information through continuous mutation and natu-ral selection. This hypothesis provides logical and incremental steps for the development of programmed protein synthesis. I also argue that the helicase activity is preserved in the modern ribosome and that from our knowledge of the ribosome, and we can deduce the possible mechanisms of the helicase activity.展开更多
The paper proposes that the understanding of human language evolution requires the comprehensive understanding of language in terms of language types, formations, and learnings and the comprehensive understanding of h...The paper proposes that the understanding of human language evolution requires the comprehensive understanding of language in terms of language types, formations, and learnings and the comprehensive understanding of human biological evolution in terms of the emergences of various hominin species with various language capacities. This paper proposes language neuromechanics and the human biological-language evolution. Language is derived from bodily movement. Language neuro-mechanics combines neuroscience to study language brain and biomechanics to study language movement. Language neuromechanics consists of language type, language formation, and language learning. Language types for advanced animals include gestural language verse vocal language, instinctive language verse controllable language, and symbolic language verse iconic language. Language formation involves the developments of the different types of languages from different bodily movements phylogenetically and ontogenetically. Language learning involves the learning of controllable language to adapt to communicative environment through language brain regions and language genes. This paper proposes a gradual and step-by-step human language evolution from the language of great apes to the human language through the human biological evolution which chronologically and geographically consists of early hominins, early Homos, middle Homos, and late Homos with different language capacities. For hominins, vocal language and gestural language were evolved together. In conclusion, combining neuroscience and bio-mechanics, language neuromechanics provides the comprehensive understanding of language. The combination of language neuromechanics and the human biological-language evolution provides the clear evolutionary path from great apes’ articulate gestural language without articulate speech to human articulate gestural language and articulate speech.展开更多
Common regularities in the biology evolution and the magnetization processes of magnetically ordered materials have been demonstrated. The arrays of the experimental data have been accumulated in the registration proc...Common regularities in the biology evolution and the magnetization processes of magnetically ordered materials have been demonstrated. The arrays of the experimental data have been accumulated in the registration process of a weak polarization-optical response of borate iron at the presence of external magnetic field. It is shown that the magnetic behavior of response in some respects analogous to processes in biologically systems, such as differentiation, convergence, the development of clones, etc. It is predicted the existence of the weaving development that combines the characteristics of the processes of differentiation and convergence. More detail are considered the phenomenon nie the branch points;it is shown the possibility of the acceleration, retardation, and wavelike development. The proposed approach may be useful for comparison, the study and predict development scenarios for actual organized systems of various natures (ecological, social, financial, informative etc.), and high degree of hierarchical complexity.展开更多
This paper aims at assessing the evolutionist and creationist conceptions of Brazilian teachers. The work is developed within the framework of the European project BIOHEAD-CITIZEN （biology, health and environmental e...This paper aims at assessing the evolutionist and creationist conceptions of Brazilian teachers. The work is developed within the framework of the European project BIOHEAD-CITIZEN （biology, health and environmental education for better citizenship）, which takes into account that scientific knowledge and teachers＇ attitudes and values can influence the teaching practices. The large questionnaire BIOHEAD-CITIZEN, which was constructed to be applied in 19 countries in Europe, Africa and Middle East countries, was applied, in this study, to six groups of Brazilian teachers： primary school teachers, biology teachers and Portuguese language teachers and corresponding teachers-to-be. For this paper the answers to questions about evolution were used as dependent variables. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were carried out. Biology teachers and biology teachers-to-be gave more importance to the natural selection and the evolution process than the other groups of teachers. Comparing to the BIOHEAD-CITIZEN countries, the total Brazilian sample showed a higher percentage of creationist conceptions, particularly the Brazilian biology teachers and teachers-to-be. As discussed herein, this may not be an obstacle for teaching evolution as they accept both creationist and evolutionist concomitantly.展开更多
The prebiotic synthesis of peptides prior to ribosome-catalyzed processes remains an enigma.The synthesis of abiotic peptides from amino acids(AAs)is primarily constrained by high activation energies and unfavorable t...The prebiotic synthesis of peptides prior to ribosome-catalyzed processes remains an enigma.The synthesis of abiotic peptides from amino acids(AAs)is primarily constrained by high activation energies and unfavorable thermodynamics,necessitating the identification of plausible prebiotic alternatives for synthesizing prebiotic peptides.Here we present a plausible pathway to the formation of prebiotic peptides,wherein oligopeptides,oligopeptide amides,and cyclic oligopeptides can be directly synthesized from amino acid amides(AA-NH2)under wet–dry cycle conditions without the need for any enhancers.The subsequent investigation revealed that AA-NH2 demonstrated more favorable thermodynamic reaction effects than AAs in peptide formation.In contrast to the polymerization of AAs,the process of peptide formation through the polymerization of AA-NH2 was significantly simplified.Additionally,AA-NH2 was discovered to function as a“bridge”for the formation of peptides from AAs,thereby facilitating their participation in the synthesis of intricate peptide structures.On the basis of these findings,a plausible mechanism for the prebiotic origin network of peptides under primordial Earth conditions has been proposed.Overall,this research presents a plausible pathway for the generation of prebiotic peptides and peptide libraries within prebiotic environments.展开更多
Discharge plasmas, recognized as unique platforms for investigating the origins of chemical life, have garnered extensive interest for their potential to simulate prebiotic conditions. This paper embarks on a comprehe...Discharge plasmas, recognized as unique platforms for investigating the origins of chemical life, have garnered extensive interest for their potential to simulate prebiotic conditions. This paper embarks on a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in the plasma-enabled synthesis of life’s building blocks, charting the complex environmental parameters believed to have surrounded life’s inception. This discussion elaborates on the fundamental mechanisms of discharge plasmas and their likely role in fostering conditions necessary for the origin of life on early Earth. We consider a variety of chemical reactions facilitated by plasma, specifically the synthesis of vital organic molecules - amino acids, nucleobases, sugars, and lipids. Further, we delve into the impact of plasmas on prebiotic chemical evolution. We expect this review to open new horizons for future investigations in plasma-related prebiotic chemistry that could offer valuable insights for unraveling the mysteries of life's origin.展开更多
This paper presents in a concise way the main characteristics of life from the physical point of view and the most successful theories of biogenesis, together with a mathematical formulation and simulation of proto-bi...This paper presents in a concise way the main characteristics of life from the physical point of view and the most successful theories of biogenesis, together with a mathematical formulation and simulation of proto-biogenesis. We present here a calculation method for biochemical reactions based on the available reaction data base, and using this method, we calculate precise scenarios for the first life cycle, and for the first stages of terrestrial biological evolution.展开更多
Recent progress in bioinorganic chemistry studies of rare earth elements (REE) in animal cells was outlined, and the definition of REE′s biological intelligence as well as their mechanism were also explained. The mig...Recent progress in bioinorganic chemistry studies of rare earth elements (REE) in animal cells was outlined, and the definition of REE′s biological intelligence as well as their mechanism were also explained. The migration of REE from weathering rocks to the environment is accelerated by various anthropogenic activities, which can eventually result in the entrance of REE into animal and human bodies via food chain. REE can be found in body tissues such as brain, blood, muscle as well as bone. Based on their geochemical properties, REE in low dose show their unique biological intelligence by intervening in the process of signal transduction and its regulation, arteriosclerosis and blood clotting prevention, anticancer, and the promotion of cellular defense enzymes′ activities, nucleic acid metabolism enzymes as well as ATPases, etc. The meaning of REE′s biological intelligence refers to physicochemical properties-based capability to choose the targets (e.g., biometals) in biomolecules for the chelation or replacement of REE, and change the structures and functions of biomolecules, and consequently impact or control the biological functions or behaviors in living organisms. The regulation of various cellular processes caused by REE is mainly via antagonism or replacement of essential target biometals like calcium or via chelation of organic molecules, thereby embodying the unparalleled biological intelligence of REE. Additionally, the dosage effect of REE was also discussed from the angles of yin-yang dichotomy, bioavailability, entropy and evolution. In order to make full use of REE′s biological intelligence in the application for medicine, more detailed studies concerning dosage effect of REE and REE bioaccumulation in organisms should be conducted in future research.展开更多
The ratios of amino acid to the total amino acids and those of nucleotides to the total nucleotides in genes or genomes are suitable indexes to compare whole gene or genome characteristics based on the large number of...The ratios of amino acid to the total amino acids and those of nucleotides to the total nucleotides in genes or genomes are suitable indexes to compare whole gene or genome characteristics based on the large number of nucleotides rather than their sequences. As these ratios are strictly calculated from nucleotide sequences, the values are independent of experimental errors. In the present mini-review, the following themes are approached according to the ratios of amino acids and nucleotides to their total numbers in the genome: prebiotic evolution, the chronological precedence of protein and codon formations, genome evolution, Chargaff’s second pa- rity rule, and the origins of life. Amino acid formation might have initially occurred during pre- biotic evolution, the “amino acid world”, and amino acid polymerization might chronologically precede codon formation at the end of prebiotic evolution. All nucleotide alterations occurred synchronously over the genome during biolo- gical evolution. After establishing primitive lives, all nucleotide alterations have been governed by linear formulae in nuclear and organelle genomes consisting of the double-stranded DNA. When the four nucleotide contents against each individual nucleotide content in organelles are expressed by four linear regression lines representing the diagonal lines of a 0.5 square – the “Diagonal Genome Universe”, evolution obeys Chargaff’s second parity rule. The fact that linear regression lines intersect at a single point su- ggests that all species originated from a single life source.展开更多
We consider the problem of structure and functions of the first forms of living matter and present a hypothe-sis that they were formed through a physico-chemical process known as dendritic crystallization. According t...We consider the problem of structure and functions of the first forms of living matter and present a hypothe-sis that they were formed through a physico-chemical process known as dendritic crystallization. According to this hypothesis the branching, dendritic structures helped build living systems by lending them functions so that organic chemical evolution is just one natural consequence of the evolution of matter in the universe. We conclude that a self-replicating biological system with adaptation emerged from simple molecules using completely abiotic mechanism of formation, which acted simultaneously or intermittently at different places on the early Earth and created similar structures everywhere. The dendritic hypothesis of origin of the func-tions explains similarities in the living systems and supports the assumption of a ‘second genesis of life’. The dendritic scenario does not need carbon/phosphorus-based solutes in water-based solutions, which may have important implications for exobiology and extraterrestrial origin-of-life scenarios. An experiment to test the hypothesis is suggested.展开更多
Methodological problems of climatic reconstruction for different periods of Holocene are discussed on the basis of a multiple group biological analysis on peat-sapropel sediments. The possibility of biological analysi...Methodological problems of climatic reconstruction for different periods of Holocene are discussed on the basis of a multiple group biological analysis on peat-sapropel sediments. The possibility of biological analysis is exemplified by the paleoclimatic reconstruction for Carpathian and Altai Mountain ranges. For the ＂Skolevsky Beskidy＂ national park of Carpaty the paleoclimatic scenarios have been drown up aiming at the more precise definition of climatic conditions for the period of mass mountain slope terracing. The stability of terrace systems of various designs in the current climatic conditions has been assessed. It is shown that during periods of humid climate the terraces, whose designs have been focused on drainage, were built. In periods of dry and warm climate the terrace systems capable of accumulating water were built. Both these types of terrace systems are destroyed in nowadays. Only those terrace systems are stable which were adjusted by their builders to contrast variations of precipitation. For Western Altais the paleoclimatic scenario has been done to forecast the safety of the Bronze Age kurgans （burial earth mounds） with permafrost inside the construction. In the Altay region during the Holocene it has revealed two periods of sharp cooling, the peaks of which occurred in the intervals 4500- 4300 and 2500-2300 years pronounced climatic drying ago, and two periods of 4900-4700 and 130-70 years ago. Depletion of the algae composition in the layer corresponding to the last period of drying climate indicates a very sharp change in the parameters of moisture and turning the lake into a dry swamp. Periods of cold weather may have contributed to the formation of special ritual traditions of the Sakan tribes that require the frozen ground to bury the dead. The later climate fluctuations identified have not affected the safety of permafrost in burial mounds constructed in the V-III cc BC.展开更多
Professor Duzheng YE＇s name has been familiar to me ever since my postdoctoral years at MIT with Professors Jule CHARNEY and Norman PHILLIPS, back in the late 1960 s. I had the enormous pleasure of meeting Professor ...Professor Duzheng YE＇s name has been familiar to me ever since my postdoctoral years at MIT with Professors Jule CHARNEY and Norman PHILLIPS, back in the late 1960 s. I had the enormous pleasure of meeting Professor YE personally in 1992 in Beijing. His concern to promote the very best science and to use it well, and his thinking on multi-level orderly human activities, reminds me not only of the communication skills we need as scientists but also of the multi-level nature of science itself. Here I want to say something（a） about what science is;（b） about why multi-level thinking—and taking more than one viewpoint—is so important for scientific as well as for other forms of understanding; and（c） about what is meant, at a deep level, by ＂scientific understanding＂ and trying to communicate it, not only with lay persons but also across professional disciplines. I hope that Professor YE would approve.展开更多
Human beings do not live in nature, they live in culture. Contrary to biological evolution, which is based on genetic inheritance, cultural change is transmitted by instruction. Simple beginnings of culture have been ...Human beings do not live in nature, they live in culture. Contrary to biological evolution, which is based on genetic inheritance, cultural change is transmitted by instruction. Simple beginnings of culture have been observed in various animals. However, the much advanced human culture became possible by its transmission by language, and by its being cumulative. The concept of cultural change as a progressive process, popular by 18th and 19th centuries thinkers, is nowadays rejected, and the uniqueness of each culture stressed. Although, there are some similarities between biological evolution and cultural change, important differences between these processes are emphasized. The rapid rate of cultural change （especially its technological aspect）, as compared to the rate of biological evolution, is noted. In addition, some cultural changes led to new phenomena, which in a time of crisis can be annulled. The possible consequences of the different rate of these two processes for humans as individuals, and for their societies are discussed.展开更多
文摘Darwin’s theory of evolution believes that biological evolution is a process of natural selection. This theory has been supported by much evidence, but the internal biological mechanism is not clear. Here, I elaborate on the cycle of potassium resources on the earth and the biological utilization and efficiency, which may be the core mechanism of natural selection and affect the evolution of organisms and the development of human society.
文摘In the present paper we have made an attempt to investigate the importance of the concepts of dynamical stability and complexity along with their interelationship in an evolving biological systems described by a system of kinetic (both deterministic and chaotic) equations. The key to the investigation lies in the expres-sion of a time-dependent Boltzmann-like entropy function derived from the dynamical model of the system. A significant result is the determination of the expression of Boltzmann - entropy production rate of the evolving system leading to the well-known Pesin-type identity which provides an elegant and simple meas-ure of dynamical complexity in terms of positive Lyapunov exponents. The expression of dynamical com-plexity has been found to be very suitable in the study of the increase of dynamical complexity with the suc-cessive instabilities resulting from the appearance of new polymer species (or ecological species) into the original system. The increase of the dynamical complexity with the evolutionary process has been explained with a simple competitive model system leading to the “principle of natural selection”.
基金Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) (Grant No. 2007CB714101)~~
文摘Modified classical Boltzmann entropy as generalized entropy, then proposed Maximum Generalized Entropy Principle fusing physics and biology, and established a new model for biological origin and evolutions based on this principle, finally took protein evolution for an example to analyze. The model provided some reference for biological complexity research.
文摘The author thinks that the endless and timeless Universe is a permanent substance and energy flow as well as motion of celestial systems and bodies. Celestial bodies may have physical and biological life. Our Earth has both lives which can be divided into different periods of time. Its physical life can mainly be characterized by the atomic evolution, sterility, appearance of water and abiotic chemical reactions. Essence of the biological life is the existence of the living unit. Biological life of our Globe started with the first living unit/microorganism which began to influence on its environment which is a closed system for substance, flora, creature and man but not for hit of celestial bodies and for arrival of different kinds of energy from the space as well as for radiation of heat. The biological life of our Earth can be divided into four parts: before photosynthesis, before mankind, before 1778 and after the industrial revolution.
文摘Biological information is one of the most important characteristics of life, and it enables life to evolve to higher complexity and adapt to the environment by mutation and natural selection. However, the origin of this information recording and retrieval system remains a mystery. To understand the origin of biological information will lead us to one step closer to understand the origin of life on earth. Biological information is encoded in DNA and translated into protein by the ribosome in all free living organisms. The information has to be translated into proteins to carry out its biological functions, so the evolution of the ribosome must be integrated with the development of biological information. In this article, I propose that the small ribosomal subunit evolved from a ribozyme that acted as an RNA helicase in the ancient RNA world, and the involvement of tRNAs and the large ribosomal subunit evolved to enhance the helicase activity and to overcome the higher energy require-ment for high GC content RNA helices. This process could have developed as a primitive recording mechanism: since Watson-Crick base paring is a natural property of RNA, each time the proto-small ribosomal subunit came to a particular GC-rich helix, tRNA-like molecules and the proto-large ribosomal subunit would have to be engaged to generate the helicase activity, and consequently the same polypeptide would be synthesized as a by-product. Simple recorded messages then evolved into useful biological information through continuous mutation and natu-ral selection. This hypothesis provides logical and incremental steps for the development of programmed protein synthesis. I also argue that the helicase activity is preserved in the modern ribosome and that from our knowledge of the ribosome, and we can deduce the possible mechanisms of the helicase activity.
文摘The paper proposes that the understanding of human language evolution requires the comprehensive understanding of language in terms of language types, formations, and learnings and the comprehensive understanding of human biological evolution in terms of the emergences of various hominin species with various language capacities. This paper proposes language neuromechanics and the human biological-language evolution. Language is derived from bodily movement. Language neuro-mechanics combines neuroscience to study language brain and biomechanics to study language movement. Language neuromechanics consists of language type, language formation, and language learning. Language types for advanced animals include gestural language verse vocal language, instinctive language verse controllable language, and symbolic language verse iconic language. Language formation involves the developments of the different types of languages from different bodily movements phylogenetically and ontogenetically. Language learning involves the learning of controllable language to adapt to communicative environment through language brain regions and language genes. This paper proposes a gradual and step-by-step human language evolution from the language of great apes to the human language through the human biological evolution which chronologically and geographically consists of early hominins, early Homos, middle Homos, and late Homos with different language capacities. For hominins, vocal language and gestural language were evolved together. In conclusion, combining neuroscience and bio-mechanics, language neuromechanics provides the comprehensive understanding of language. The combination of language neuromechanics and the human biological-language evolution provides the clear evolutionary path from great apes’ articulate gestural language without articulate speech to human articulate gestural language and articulate speech.
文摘Common regularities in the biology evolution and the magnetization processes of magnetically ordered materials have been demonstrated. The arrays of the experimental data have been accumulated in the registration process of a weak polarization-optical response of borate iron at the presence of external magnetic field. It is shown that the magnetic behavior of response in some respects analogous to processes in biologically systems, such as differentiation, convergence, the development of clones, etc. It is predicted the existence of the weaving development that combines the characteristics of the processes of differentiation and convergence. More detail are considered the phenomenon nie the branch points;it is shown the possibility of the acceleration, retardation, and wavelike development. The proposed approach may be useful for comparison, the study and predict development scenarios for actual organized systems of various natures (ecological, social, financial, informative etc.), and high degree of hierarchical complexity.
文摘This paper aims at assessing the evolutionist and creationist conceptions of Brazilian teachers. The work is developed within the framework of the European project BIOHEAD-CITIZEN （biology, health and environmental education for better citizenship）, which takes into account that scientific knowledge and teachers＇ attitudes and values can influence the teaching practices. The large questionnaire BIOHEAD-CITIZEN, which was constructed to be applied in 19 countries in Europe, Africa and Middle East countries, was applied, in this study, to six groups of Brazilian teachers： primary school teachers, biology teachers and Portuguese language teachers and corresponding teachers-to-be. For this paper the answers to questions about evolution were used as dependent variables. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were carried out. Biology teachers and biology teachers-to-be gave more importance to the natural selection and the evolution process than the other groups of teachers. Comparing to the BIOHEAD-CITIZEN countries, the total Brazilian sample showed a higher percentage of creationist conceptions, particularly the Brazilian biology teachers and teachers-to-be. As discussed herein, this may not be an obstacle for teaching evolution as they accept both creationist and evolutionist concomitantly.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.42388101,92256203,and 42003062)Fundamental Research Funds for the Provincial Universities of Zhejiang(No.SJLY2023007)+1 种基金Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization,Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.YYWT-0901-EXP-16)Ningbo Top Talent Project(No.215-432094250).
文摘The prebiotic synthesis of peptides prior to ribosome-catalyzed processes remains an enigma.The synthesis of abiotic peptides from amino acids(AAs)is primarily constrained by high activation energies and unfavorable thermodynamics,necessitating the identification of plausible prebiotic alternatives for synthesizing prebiotic peptides.Here we present a plausible pathway to the formation of prebiotic peptides,wherein oligopeptides,oligopeptide amides,and cyclic oligopeptides can be directly synthesized from amino acid amides(AA-NH2)under wet–dry cycle conditions without the need for any enhancers.The subsequent investigation revealed that AA-NH2 demonstrated more favorable thermodynamic reaction effects than AAs in peptide formation.In contrast to the polymerization of AAs,the process of peptide formation through the polymerization of AA-NH2 was significantly simplified.Additionally,AA-NH2 was discovered to function as a“bridge”for the formation of peptides from AAs,thereby facilitating their participation in the synthesis of intricate peptide structures.On the basis of these findings,a plausible mechanism for the prebiotic origin network of peptides under primordial Earth conditions has been proposed.Overall,this research presents a plausible pathway for the generation of prebiotic peptides and peptide libraries within prebiotic environments.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China General Project(52377160)National Natural Science Foundation of China National Young Talents Project(GYKP010)+1 种基金Shaanxi Provincial Natural Science Program(2023-JC-YB-425)Xi′an Jiaotong University Young Top Talents Program.
文摘Discharge plasmas, recognized as unique platforms for investigating the origins of chemical life, have garnered extensive interest for their potential to simulate prebiotic conditions. This paper embarks on a comprehensive overview of recent advancements in the plasma-enabled synthesis of life’s building blocks, charting the complex environmental parameters believed to have surrounded life’s inception. This discussion elaborates on the fundamental mechanisms of discharge plasmas and their likely role in fostering conditions necessary for the origin of life on early Earth. We consider a variety of chemical reactions facilitated by plasma, specifically the synthesis of vital organic molecules - amino acids, nucleobases, sugars, and lipids. Further, we delve into the impact of plasmas on prebiotic chemical evolution. We expect this review to open new horizons for future investigations in plasma-related prebiotic chemistry that could offer valuable insights for unraveling the mysteries of life's origin.
文摘This paper presents in a concise way the main characteristics of life from the physical point of view and the most successful theories of biogenesis, together with a mathematical formulation and simulation of proto-biogenesis. We present here a calculation method for biochemical reactions based on the available reaction data base, and using this method, we calculate precise scenarios for the first life cycle, and for the first stages of terrestrial biological evolution.
文摘Recent progress in bioinorganic chemistry studies of rare earth elements (REE) in animal cells was outlined, and the definition of REE′s biological intelligence as well as their mechanism were also explained. The migration of REE from weathering rocks to the environment is accelerated by various anthropogenic activities, which can eventually result in the entrance of REE into animal and human bodies via food chain. REE can be found in body tissues such as brain, blood, muscle as well as bone. Based on their geochemical properties, REE in low dose show their unique biological intelligence by intervening in the process of signal transduction and its regulation, arteriosclerosis and blood clotting prevention, anticancer, and the promotion of cellular defense enzymes′ activities, nucleic acid metabolism enzymes as well as ATPases, etc. The meaning of REE′s biological intelligence refers to physicochemical properties-based capability to choose the targets (e.g., biometals) in biomolecules for the chelation or replacement of REE, and change the structures and functions of biomolecules, and consequently impact or control the biological functions or behaviors in living organisms. The regulation of various cellular processes caused by REE is mainly via antagonism or replacement of essential target biometals like calcium or via chelation of organic molecules, thereby embodying the unparalleled biological intelligence of REE. Additionally, the dosage effect of REE was also discussed from the angles of yin-yang dichotomy, bioavailability, entropy and evolution. In order to make full use of REE′s biological intelligence in the application for medicine, more detailed studies concerning dosage effect of REE and REE bioaccumulation in organisms should be conducted in future research.
文摘The ratios of amino acid to the total amino acids and those of nucleotides to the total nucleotides in genes or genomes are suitable indexes to compare whole gene or genome characteristics based on the large number of nucleotides rather than their sequences. As these ratios are strictly calculated from nucleotide sequences, the values are independent of experimental errors. In the present mini-review, the following themes are approached according to the ratios of amino acids and nucleotides to their total numbers in the genome: prebiotic evolution, the chronological precedence of protein and codon formations, genome evolution, Chargaff’s second pa- rity rule, and the origins of life. Amino acid formation might have initially occurred during pre- biotic evolution, the “amino acid world”, and amino acid polymerization might chronologically precede codon formation at the end of prebiotic evolution. All nucleotide alterations occurred synchronously over the genome during biolo- gical evolution. After establishing primitive lives, all nucleotide alterations have been governed by linear formulae in nuclear and organelle genomes consisting of the double-stranded DNA. When the four nucleotide contents against each individual nucleotide content in organelles are expressed by four linear regression lines representing the diagonal lines of a 0.5 square – the “Diagonal Genome Universe”, evolution obeys Chargaff’s second parity rule. The fact that linear regression lines intersect at a single point su- ggests that all species originated from a single life source.
文摘We consider the problem of structure and functions of the first forms of living matter and present a hypothe-sis that they were formed through a physico-chemical process known as dendritic crystallization. According to this hypothesis the branching, dendritic structures helped build living systems by lending them functions so that organic chemical evolution is just one natural consequence of the evolution of matter in the universe. We conclude that a self-replicating biological system with adaptation emerged from simple molecules using completely abiotic mechanism of formation, which acted simultaneously or intermittently at different places on the early Earth and created similar structures everywhere. The dendritic hypothesis of origin of the func-tions explains similarities in the living systems and supports the assumption of a ‘second genesis of life’. The dendritic scenario does not need carbon/phosphorus-based solutes in water-based solutions, which may have important implications for exobiology and extraterrestrial origin-of-life scenarios. An experiment to test the hypothesis is suggested.
基金supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No 08-05-92223)
文摘Methodological problems of climatic reconstruction for different periods of Holocene are discussed on the basis of a multiple group biological analysis on peat-sapropel sediments. The possibility of biological analysis is exemplified by the paleoclimatic reconstruction for Carpathian and Altai Mountain ranges. For the ＂Skolevsky Beskidy＂ national park of Carpaty the paleoclimatic scenarios have been drown up aiming at the more precise definition of climatic conditions for the period of mass mountain slope terracing. The stability of terrace systems of various designs in the current climatic conditions has been assessed. It is shown that during periods of humid climate the terraces, whose designs have been focused on drainage, were built. In periods of dry and warm climate the terrace systems capable of accumulating water were built. Both these types of terrace systems are destroyed in nowadays. Only those terrace systems are stable which were adjusted by their builders to contrast variations of precipitation. For Western Altais the paleoclimatic scenario has been done to forecast the safety of the Bronze Age kurgans （burial earth mounds） with permafrost inside the construction. In the Altay region during the Holocene it has revealed two periods of sharp cooling, the peaks of which occurred in the intervals 4500- 4300 and 2500-2300 years pronounced climatic drying ago, and two periods of 4900-4700 and 130-70 years ago. Depletion of the algae composition in the layer corresponding to the last period of drying climate indicates a very sharp change in the parameters of moisture and turning the lake into a dry swamp. Periods of cold weather may have contributed to the formation of special ritual traditions of the Sakan tribes that require the frozen ground to bury the dead. The later climate fluctuations identified have not affected the safety of permafrost in burial mounds constructed in the V-III cc BC.
文摘Professor Duzheng YE＇s name has been familiar to me ever since my postdoctoral years at MIT with Professors Jule CHARNEY and Norman PHILLIPS, back in the late 1960 s. I had the enormous pleasure of meeting Professor YE personally in 1992 in Beijing. His concern to promote the very best science and to use it well, and his thinking on multi-level orderly human activities, reminds me not only of the communication skills we need as scientists but also of the multi-level nature of science itself. Here I want to say something（a） about what science is;（b） about why multi-level thinking—and taking more than one viewpoint—is so important for scientific as well as for other forms of understanding; and（c） about what is meant, at a deep level, by ＂scientific understanding＂ and trying to communicate it, not only with lay persons but also across professional disciplines. I hope that Professor YE would approve.
文摘Human beings do not live in nature, they live in culture. Contrary to biological evolution, which is based on genetic inheritance, cultural change is transmitted by instruction. Simple beginnings of culture have been observed in various animals. However, the much advanced human culture became possible by its transmission by language, and by its being cumulative. The concept of cultural change as a progressive process, popular by 18th and 19th centuries thinkers, is nowadays rejected, and the uniqueness of each culture stressed. Although, there are some similarities between biological evolution and cultural change, important differences between these processes are emphasized. The rapid rate of cultural change （especially its technological aspect）, as compared to the rate of biological evolution, is noted. In addition, some cultural changes led to new phenomena, which in a time of crisis can be annulled. The possible consequences of the different rate of these two processes for humans as individuals, and for their societies are discussed.
