Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
The Chemical Origin Of Behavior Is Rooted In Abiogenesis, Brian C. Larson, R. Paul Jensen, Niles Lehman
The Chemical Origin Of Behavior Is Rooted In Abiogenesis, Brian C. Larson, R. Paul Jensen, Niles Lehman
Chemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations
We describe the initial realization of behavior in the biosphere, which we term behavioral chemistry. If molecules are complex enough to attain a stochastic element to their structural conformation in such as a way as to radically affect their function in a biological (evolvable) setting, then they have the capacity to behave. This circumstance is described here as behavioral chemistry, unique in its definition from the colloquial chemical behavior. This transition between chemical behavior and behavioral chemistry need be explicit when discussing the root cause of behavior, which itself lies squarely at the origins of life and is the foundation …
Spontaneous Cooperative Assembly Of Replicative Catalytic Rna Systems, Nilesh Vaidya
Spontaneous Cooperative Assembly Of Replicative Catalytic Rna Systems, Nilesh Vaidya
Dissertations and Theses
The RNA World hypothesis proposes a period of time during the origins of life in which RNA molecules were the only source of both genotypes and phenotypes. Although a vast amount of evidence has been obtained in support of this hypothesis, a few critical demonstrations are lacking. A most crucial one is a demonstration of self-replication of RNA molecule from prebiotic soup. Previously in the Lehman laboratory, it has been demonstrated that a 198-nucleotide molecule derived from the Azoarcus group I intron can self-assemble from up to four fragments of RNA via recombination. Furthermore, the covalent full-length molecules are catalytically …