The origin of life on Earth is a profound mystery for which scientific answers are lacking. I will report on laboratory experiments that attempt to recreate molecular evolution under the conditions of the early Earth. They mimic the geophysical nonequilibria on a volcanic island and combine them with an early biochemistry that could form and replicate RNA sequences. The environments we study include wet-dry cycles, isothermal airflow, and systems driven by temperature differences, both with an air-water interface [1] and without [2]. In addition to using proteins to accelerate evolutionary dynamics, we are attempting to initiate early evolution from activated 2',3'-cyclic nucleotides in the alkaline environment of volcanic rock. This includes the formation of RNA, its copying by templated ligation [3], evidence for early molecular cooperation with amino acids, and the formation of protocells. Our goal is to find geochemical environments that bridge the early evolution of RNA to the formation of the first cells.

[1] Ianeselli et.al., Nature Physics doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01516-z (2022)

[2] Matreux et.al., Nature doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07193-7 (2024)

[3] Serrão et.al., JACS doi.org/10.1021/jacs.3c10813 (2024)