Algorithm discovers how six simple molecules could evolve into life’s building blocks

https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/algorithm-discovers-how-six-simple-molecules-could-evolve-into-lifes-building-blocks/4012505.article?utm_source=Nature+Briefing&utm_campaign=8accfbb4ad-briefing-dy-20201001&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c9dfd39373-8accfbb4ad-44992633

Algorithm maps the chemical paths to life

Researchers have revealed how six simple precursors — water, hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen and methane — can combine to make the building blocks of life. Scientists created an algorithm for the open-use platform Allchemy that ran through all 500 known prebiotic reactions. They were able to find many well-known pathways, such as ten ways to create the DNA component adenine. They also discovered 24 entirely new routes to prebiotic molecules — more than 20 of which they experimentally validated.

Chemistry World | 4 min readReference: Science paper