Molecular Horizons Seminar with Dr Carola Venturini

Molecular Horizons Seminar - Dr Albert Fahrenbach


The RNA world hypothesis suggests that complex abiotic reaction networks on early Earth were what originally produced important biomolecules like RNA.

In this talk, our progress towards developing such networks will be summarized. This work includes:

  • radical reaction networks driven by ionizing radiation and
  • autocatalytic reaction networks with the potential for bistability.

Both of these types of reaction networks are able to produce intermediates in known synthetic pathways for pyrimidine ribonucleotides. The details and dynamics of these reaction networks will be presented.