Department of Engineering, Keio University, Yokohama 223-8522, Japan.
Nanoscale. 2020 Mar 28;12(12):6691-6698. doi: 10.1039/c9nr09537c. Epub 2020 Mar 12.
Despite decades of intensive research, many questions remain on the formation and growth of the first cells on Earth. Here, we used computer simulation to compare the self-assembly process of ribonucleic acids in two environments: enclosed in a vesicle-cell membrane and in the bulk. The self-assembly was found to be more favoured in the former environment, and the origin of such a biointerface effect was identified. These results will contribute to a better understanding of the origin of life on the primitive Earth.
尽管经过了几十年的深入研究，但地球上最早的细胞是如何形成和生长的，仍有许多问题尚未得到解答。在这里，我们使用计算机模拟比较了 RNA 在两种环境中的自组装过程：一种是封闭在囊泡-细胞膜内，另一种是在本体溶液中。结果发现前者环境更有利于自组装，并且确定了这种生物界面效应的起源。这些结果将有助于更好地理解原始地球上生命的起源。
