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Introduction
Published in Jim Lynch, What Is Life and How Might It Be Sustained?, 2023
Quantum physics is a key factor in the origin of life. The term quantum physics has entered public consciousness via the work of Stephen Hawking and the television documentaries by Brian Cox. The Grand Design (2010) by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow introduced the reading public to the subject. Roger Penrose, Stephen’s PhD examiner, had described how quantum physics shapes the way we think in his book Shadows of the Mind (1995). Penrose received the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on black hole formation, one of the most important phenomena of the universe, as a predictor of the general theory of relativity. Stephen addressed the timeless questions of life on this planet in his book published just after his death Brief Answers to Big Questions (2018). My colleague Johnjoe McFadden introduced Quantum Evolution (2000) in which he describes this new science of life and how it may have emerged from the primeval soup. Johnjoe collaborated with another colleague, quantum physicist Jim Al-Khalili, and in their book Life on the Edge (2014) described how very small events in the quantum world can affect creatures such as us.
Impact of UV Radiation on the Growth and Pharmaceutical Properties of Medicinal Plants
Published in Azamal Husen, Environmental Pollution and Medicinal Plants, 2022
Deepti, Archana (Joshi) Bachheti, Kiran Chauhan, Rakesh Kumar Bachheti, Azamal Husen
With the help of microbial proof, the origin of life is supposed to have started about a few billion years ago. The solar spectrum supported the origin of life as this is the main driving force for the exclusive ecosystem of Earth; it is embraced with the electromagnetic spectrum, which includes radio waves to gamma waves ranging from different wavelengths. The electromagnetic waves supported the formation of the early atmosphere and eventually led to the origin of life on Earth. The region of our concern is ‘Ultraviolet (UV) radiation’, which lies at the end of the short wavelength region, which is known for the more energetic regions. The infrared, visible, and ultraviolet rays are of the utmost importance for life on Earth. Being part of the solar spectrum, infrared light and visible light are responsible for the increment of temperature (up to the survival range) on Earth. About 8 to 9 per cent of the radiation is ultraviolet radiation in total solar radiation which is the component of the non-ionizing region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Typically, UV radiation is divided into three wavelength ranges, namely (a) UV-A (320–400 nm), (b) UV-B (280–320 nm), and (c) UV-C (200–280 nm).
Nucleic Acids as Therapeutic Targets and Agents
Published in David E. Thurston, Ilona Pysz, Chemistry and Pharmacology of Anticancer Drugs, 2021
Ribozymes were discovered in the early 1980s by Thomas Cech and Sidney Altman, who shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery in 1989. They postulated that RNA in this form can act as both genetic material (like DNA) and as a biological catalyst (like protein enzymes) which contributed to the “RNA World Hypothesis” which proposes that RNA may have been important in the evolution of prebiotic self-replicating systems. Investigators studying the origin of life have produced ribozymes in the laboratory that are capable of catalyzing their own synthesis under specific conditions (i.e., having an RNA polymerase activity). These studies led to the suggestion that, in the past, cells used RNA as both genetic material and as structural and catalytic molecules, rather than dividing these functions between DNA and protein as they are today.
Proteomic exploration of cystathionine β-synthase deficiency: implications for the clinic
Published in Expert Review of Proteomics, 2020
Homocysteine (Hcy), cysteine (Cys), and methionine (Met) are homologous, metabolically related thioamino acids that might have played a crucial role in the origin of life [1,2] by facilitating peptide bond formation in the primordial peptides [3,4], a role largely preserved in the present-day organisms [5,6]. Cys and Met are genetically coded canonical amino acids that participate in protein biosynthesis. Although Hcy itself is not genetically coded [7,8], it can be incorporated into proteins post-translationally [5,6], a process that is mediated by Hcy-thiolactone and implicated in human pathologies [5,6], such as cardiovascular [9] and neurological diseases [10,11], connective tissue deficiency [12,13], birth defects [14,15], rheumatoid arthritis [16], and cancer [17–19].
An overview of sex and reproductive immunity from an evolutionary/anthropological perspective
Published in Immunological Medicine, 2021
Yoshihiko Araki, Hiroshi Yoshitake, Kenji Yamatoya, Hiroshi Fujiwara
Most organisms strategically use sexual reproduction rather than asexual clonal reproduction. The textbook-like explanation for this reason is that ‘sexual reproduction results in genetic diversity that is more advantageous for survival’. However, it has already been at least 3.7 billion years since the origin of life [15,16], although this is still disputed. On Earth today, all organisms from prokaryotes to higher organisms use the genetic codon in almost the same manner. Accordingly, it is possible that there are many more reasons for sexual reproduction other than generating diversity.
Immune memory limits human longevity: the role of memory СD4+ T cells in age-related immune abnormalities
Published in Expert Review of Vaccines, 2020
Victor Ivanovich Seledtsov, Alexei A. von Delwig
The concept outlined here assumes the existence of an ‘immunological clock’ that could determine the length of life, which could constitute subject to regulation (including that of an immunotherapeutic origin) throughout life. To our opinion, putative approaches to prophylactics and treatment of age-related autoimmune and tumorigenic disorders could be as follows.