Rutgers University scientists have identified a portion of a protein called “Nickelback” that is a likely candidate for kickstarting life on Earth over 3 billion years ago. This finding has important implications for the search for extraterrestrial life, as it offers a new clue for researchers to look for.
The scientists conducting the study are part of a Rutgers-led team called Evolution of Nanomachines in Geospheres and Microbial Ancestors , which is part of the Astrobiology program at. The researchers are seeking to understand how proteins evolved to become the predominant catalyst of life on Earth.
An original instigating chemical, the researchers reasoned, would need to be simple enough to be able to assemble spontaneously in a prebiotic soup. But it would have to be sufficiently chemically active to possess the potential to take energy from the environment to drive a biochemical process. After sequences of experiments, researchers concluded the best candidate was Nickelback. The peptide is made of 13 amino acids and binds two nickel ions.