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A Sourcebook for the Worldwide Discovery of a Creative Organic Universe
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III. Ecosmos: A Revolutionary Fertile, Habitable, Solar-Bioplanet, Incubator Lifescape

G. An Astrochemistry to Astrobiological Spontaneity

Novotny, Oldrich, et al. Quantum State Selective Electron Recombination Studies Suggest Enhanced Abundance of Primordial HeH+. Science. 365/676, 2019. As worldwide collaborations reconstruct how the lively Universe and phenomenal human beings came to be, a 26 person team based at MPI Nuclear Physics, with other postings in the Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, and Israel, cite results from the new University of Heidelberg Cryogenic Storage Ring which provide the best evidence to date for this helium hydride ur-molecule at the very onset of life’s cosmic evolution. See also a commentary First Molecule Still Animates Astronomers by Stefano Bovino and Daniele Galli in the same issue, and Astrophysical Detection of the Helium Hydride Ion HeH+ by Rolf Gusten, et al in Nature (568/357, 2019). In later 2019, we wonder how it might finally become critically possible to realize that an innately organic, astrobiological milieu exists on its procreative own.

The epoch of first star formation in the early universe was dominated by simple atomic and molecular species consisting mainly of two elements: hydrogen and helium. Gaining insight into this constitutive era requires thorough understanding of molecular reactivity under primordial conditions. We used a cryogenic ion storage ring combined with a merged electron beam to measure state-specific rate coefficients of dissociative recombination, a process by which electrons destroy molecular ions. We found a dramatic decrease of the electron recombination rates for the lowest rotational states of HeH+, compared to previous measurements at room temperature. The reduced destruction of cold HeH+ translates into an enhanced abundance of this primordial molecule at redshifts of first star and galaxy formation. (Abstract)

Oberg, Karen and Edwin Bergin. Astrochemistry and Compositions of Planetary Systems. Physics Reports. October, 2020. In this epochal year, Harvard-Smithsonian Center and University of Michigan astrophysicists provide a comprehensive graphic survey which seems to have no limit as to the expanse, depth and quality that our sapient individual and worldwide cumulative intelligence can achieve. A typical section is Setting the Chemical Trajectory: Planet Formation Begins in Molecular Clouds, and a detailed image is Protoplanetary Disk Chemistry. By a philoSophia vista to allow a genesis uniVerse which exists on its own, we ought to wonder who are we phenomenal, microcosmic Earthlings to perform, unawares until now, this vital functional task of retrospective self-quantification, description, witness and affirm?

Planets form and obtain their compositions in disks of gas and dust around young stars. The chemical compositions of these planet-forming disks regulate all aspects of planetary compositions from bulk elemental inventories to access to water and reactive organics, i.e. a planet's hospitality to life and its chemical origins. In this review we present our current understanding of the chemical processes active in pre- and protostellar environments that set the initial conditions for the disk chemical processes that evolve during the first million years of planet formation.. (Abstract excerpt)

Ozturk, S. Furkan, et al. Origin of Biological Homochirality by Crystallization of an RNA Precursor. arXiv:2303.01394. Harvard University and MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK including Dimitar Sasselov and John Sunderland describe a breakthrough method to explain how this intrinsic organic status can plausibly occur across a fertile ecosmic milieu.

Homochirality is a signature of life on Earth yet its origins remain a puzzle. Achieving homochirality is essential for prebiotic networks capable of producing functional polymers like RNA and peptides. Here we studied the spin-selective crystallization of racemic ribo aminooxazoline (RAO) on magnetite surfaces to reach a high enantiomeric excess. Our work combines two features for vital homochirality: chiral symmetry-breaking and self-amplification by RAO conglomerate crystallization. (Excerpt)

Ozturk, S. Furkan, et al. Origin of Biological Homochirality by Crystallization of an RNA Precursor on a Magnetic Surface. arXiv:2303.0194. We cite thie entry by Harvard University and Cambridge MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK astrobiologists including Dimitar Sasselov to report an inherent way that living, evolving, beings seem meant to appear, evolve, and just now retrospectively turn in wonder to quantify how it all came to happen.

Homochirality is a signature of life on Earth which is essential for a high-yielding prebiotic network to produce functional polymers like ribonucleic acid (RNA) and peptides. However, a prebiotically plausible explanation has not yet been shown. Here we enlist the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect so to establish a strong coupling between electron spin and molecular chirality and a way for breaking the chiral molecular symmetry by spin-selective processes. Magnetic surfaces can be templates for the enantioselective crystallization of chiral molecules. Our results demonstrate a prebiotically plausible way of achieving systems level homochirality from completely racemic starting materials. (Excerpt)

Paschek, Klaus, et al. Prebiotic Vitamin B3 Synthesis in Carbonaceous Planetesimals.. arXiv:2310.11433. MPI Astronomy and Ludwig Maximilian University biochemists propose a novel pathway by which the original vivifying milieu could give occasion to even this vital physiological biomolecule.

Aqueous chemistry within carbonaceous planetesimals is a fertile mode for synthesizing prebiotic organic matter. Here, we studied the formation of vitamin B3 as an important precursor of the coenzyme NAD(P)(H), which is essential for the metabolism of all life. We propose an empirical reaction mechanism that explains the synthesis of vitamin B3. It combines sugar precursors glyceraldehyde or dihydroxyacetone with the amino acids aspartic acid or asparagine in aqueous solution. The predicted vitamin B3 abundances resulting from this new pathway were compared with measured values in asteroids and meteorites. In sum, our model fits well into the complex network of chemical pathways active in this environment. (excerpt)

Pendleton, Yvonne and Jack Farmer. Life: A Cosmic Imperative? Sky & Telescope. July, 1997. Yes, by way of meteorite biochemistry and favorable chances for life in the solar system, especially on the moons of Jupiter.

It is quite possible that life will be shown to be a natural consequence of planetary evolution and ‘a cosmic imperative’ anywhere that habitable zones of liquid water are maintained for even short periods of geologic time. (47)

Piran, Tsvi, et al. Cosmic Explosions, Life in the Universe and the Cosmological Constant. arXiv:1508.01034. As a mid 2010s worldwide science flourishes, evident by prolific daily postings on sites like this, Israeli, Spanish, American, and Norwegian researchers evaluate how a sapient, observant species could naturally evolve in a somewhat inhospitable cosmos. As the quotes add, while Gamma-Rays are prevalent and lethal, it seems that along with a favorable solar system, the Milky Way galaxy is especially suitable for life and mind since its properties tend to minimize their effect.

Galactic Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs) are copious sources of gamma-rays that can pose a threat to complex life. Using recent determinations of their rate and the probability of GRBs causing massive extinction, we explore what type of universes are most likely to harbour advanced forms of life. For this purpose we use cosmological N-body simulations to determine at what time and for what value of the cosmological constant (Λ) the chances of life being unaffected by cosmic explosions are maximised. We find that Λ−dominated universes favour the survival of life against GRBs. Within a ΛCDM cosmology, the parameters that govern the likelihood of life survival to GRBs are dictated by the value of Λ and the age of the Universe. We find that we seem to live in a favorable point in this parameter phase space which minimises the exposure to cosmic explosions, yet maximises the number of main sequence (hydrogen-burning) stars around which advanced life forms can exist. (Abstract)

In order for GRBs not to be life threatening, one has to live in a large, old, galaxy like the Milky Way that has undergone sufficient chemical evolution and its average metallicity is relatively large reducing the GRB rate. Furthermore, the outskirts of our galactic disk are sufficiently massive to harbour planetary systems that can support life, while not being very dense or dominated by star forming regions. Furthermore, for the Milky Way, extragalactic events are not dangerous as nearby GRB- hosting galaxies are far enough that even their strongest GRBs won't affect life on Earth. In other words, the Milky Way and its location is somewhat peculiar: it is a large, old galaxy and it is relatively isolated. (1)

The ΛCDM (Lambda cold dark matter) or Lambda-CDM model is a parametrization of the Big Bang cosmological model in which the universe contains a cosmological constant, denoted by Lambda (Greek Λ), associated with dark energy, and cold dark matter (abbreviated CDM). It is frequently referred to as the standard model of Big Bang cosmology, because it is the simplest model that provides a reasonably good account of the following properties of the cosmos: existence and structure of the cosmic microwave background; the large-scale structure in the distribution of galaxies; abundances of hydrogen (including deuterium), helium, and lithium; and the accelerating expansion of the universe observed in the light from distant galaxies and supernovae.

Plaxco, Kevin and Michael Gross. Astrobiology. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006. A thorough text on the occasion of life and intelligence, broadly conceived, in a dynamically evolving cosmos.

Pudritz, Ralph, et al, eds. Planetary Systems and the Origins of Life. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. New from the Cambridge Astrobiology series, the volume first updates protolife studies, and goes on to explore how suitable the planets and moons of our solar system might be for its viable presence.

Part I. Planetary Systems and the Origins of Life: 1. Observations of extrasolar planetary systems Shay Zucker; 2. The atmospheres of extrasolar planets L. Jeremy Richardson and Sara Seager; 3. Terrestrial planet formation Edward Thommes; 4. Protoplanetary disks, amino acids and the genetic code Paul Higgs and Ralph Pudritz; 5. Emergent phenomena in biology: the origin of cellular life David Deamer; Part II. Life on Earth: 6. Extremophiles: defining the envelope for the search for life in the Universe Lynn Rothschild; 7. Hyperthermophilic life on Earth - and on Mars? Karl Stetter; 8. Phylogenomics: how far back in the past can we go? Henner Brinkmann, Denis Baurain and Hervé Philippe; 9. Horizontal gene transfer, gene histories and the root of the tree of life Olga Zhaxybayeva and J. Peter Gogarten; 10. Evolutionary innovation versus ecological incumbency Adolf Seilacher; 11. Gradual origins for the Metazoans Alexandra Pontefract and Jonathan Stone; Part III. Life in the Solar System?: 12. The search for life on Mars Chris McKay; 13. Life in the dark dune spots of Mars: a testable hypothesis Eörs Szathmary, Tibor Ganti, Tamas Pocs, Andras Horvath, Akos Kereszturi, Szaniszlo Berzci and Andras Sik; 14. Titan: a new astrobiological vision from the Cassini-Huygens data François Raulin; 15. Europa, the Ocean Moon: tides, permeable ice, and life Richard Greenberg.

Puzzarini, Cristina. Astronomical Complex Organic Molecules: Quantum Chemistry Meets Rotational Spectroscopy. International Journal of Quantum Chemistry. 117/2, 2017. A University of Bologna chemist whose laboratory studies “computational astrochemistry and molecular astrophysics” reviews this fertile field as it comes upon a natural cosmos filled with complex, precursor organic compounds. This entry points out how quantum principles can well serve this endeavor. See also a concurrent posting Anharmonic Interstellar PAH Molecules by Alessandra Candian and Cameron Mackie.

Astrochemistry is an interdisciplinary field involving chemistry, physics, and astronomy, which encompasses astronomical observations, modeling, as well as theoretical and experimental laboratory investigations. In the frame of the latter, this contribution provides an overview on the computational approaches supporting and complementing rotational spectroscopy experiments applied to astrochemical studies. The focus is on the computational strategies that permit accurate computations of structural and rotational parameters as well as of energetics and on their application to case studies, with particular emphasis on the so-called “astronomical complex” organic molecules. (Abstract)

For many years, the interstellar medium (ISM) was considered too hostile for organic species to be formed. This paradigm of thought began to deteriorate roughly forty years ago with the discovery of molecules containing carbon chains and rings. As time has gone on, the pace of molecular discovery has accelerated, and the detection in the last decade of molecules showing some significant complexity, like for example, glycolaldehyde (CH2OHCHO), acetamide (CH3C(O)NH2), and methyl acetate (CH3OC(O)CH3), has changed this view dramatically. Indeed, the detection of almost 200 molecules in interstellar or circumstellar shells suggests that the ISM is characterized by a rich chemistry. (1)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) are a class of molecules which is very common on the Earth, being the byproduct of combustion. It is now known that PAHs are widespread in the entire Universe. They are accepted almost unequivocally as the carriers of a family of bands, the aromatic infrared bands (AIBs), detected in emission in the spectrum of astronomical objects ranging from dying stars to entire galaxies. In space, PAH molecules absorb ultraviolet or visible photons, then undergo fast internal conversion by which the absorbed energy is transferred to the vibrational degrees of freedom. (Candian & Mackie)

Puzzarini, Cristina and Vincenzo Barone. A Never-Ending Story in the Sky: The Secrets of Chemical Evolution. Physics of Life Reviews. Online July 5, 2019. Organic chemistry in space is nowadays a matter of fact. University of Bolonga and Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa researchers first survey 21st century findings which affirm a universal propensity for biological precursors to arise and complexify across the galaxies. Going forward, an array of advanced methods are cited and proposed such as quantum chemical predictions of relative energies, computational astrochemistry, virtual reality perceptions, and more. The paper closes by harking back to Galileo’s experiental glimpses so as to look ahead as our whole Earthkind research endeavor as it seems to quantify and discover a creative ecosmos genesis.

Cosmic evolution is the tale of a progressive transition from simplicity to complexity. The newborn universe started with the simplest atoms and proceeded toward the formation of astronomical complex organic molecules (aCOMs), most with a clear prebiotic character. To disclose the “secrets” of chemical evolution across space, the first step is to learn how small prebiotic species came to be and chemical complexity can further increase. This review addresses the role played by molecular spectroscopy and quantum-chemical computations. We present how signatures of molecules can be found in space, and move to a computational view to derive molecular spectroscopic features, investigation of gas-phase formation routes of prebiotic species in the ISM, and onto astrochemical evolution. Finally, an integrated strategy by way of high-performance computers and virtual reality will be discussed. (Abstract excerpts)

Rennie, John and Allison Parshall.. Inside Ancient Asteroids, Gamma Rays Made Building Blocks of Life. Quanta. January 4, 2023. Science writers consider a latest research paper about how such astro-energies might have actually fostered life’s advancing biomolecular complexities. The subject entry is Gamma-Ray-Induced Amino Acid Formation in Aqueous Small Bodies in the Early Solar System by Yoko, Kebukawa, et al (Yokohama National University, Japan) in ACS Central Science, December 7, 2022, which is reachable from the text.

A new radiation-based mechanism adds to the ways that amino acids could have been made in space and brought to the young Earth. But where did these amino acids come from? The amino acids flowing through our ecosystems are products of cellular metabolism, mostly in plants. What nonbiological mechanism could have put them in meteorites and asteroids? Scientists have thought of several ways, and recent work by researchers in Japan points to a significant new one: a mechanism that uses gamma rays to forge amino acids. Their discovery makes it seem even more likely that meteorites could have contributed to the origin of life on Earth.

Carbonaceous chondrites contain life’s essential building blocks, including amino acids, and their delivery of organic compounds would have played a key role in life’s emergence on Earth. Aqueous alteration of carbonaceous chondrites is a widespread process induced by the heat produced by radioactive decay of nuclides like 26Al. Simple ubiquitous molecules like formaldehyde and ammonia could produce various organic compounds, including amino acids and complex organic macromolecules. However, the effects of radiation on such organic chemistry are unknown. In this paper, we propose a new prebiotic amino acid formation pathway that contributes to life’s origin. (Kebukawa Excerpt)

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