An Australian mom expecting her fifth child got an immense surprise: naturally conceived identical quadruplets

Amazing stuff!

"... a one-in-15-million pregnancy. All four girls arrived healthy last week."

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Life's first molecule: Borate boosts its formation, finds study

Amazing stuff!

Notice the abstract speaks of a six step process, but it lists only five steps! The significance and abstract also contained some misspellings or ambiguous spellings (which I corrected).

"One surprising discovery made by the researchers was that the mineral borate, which was expected to interfere with essential prebiotic processes by latching onto key ingredients and preventing further reactions, actually had the opposite effect. Instead, borate helped with the chemical reactions by sweeping away unwanted byproducts and maintaining the pH levels required for RNA synthesis. ..."

From the significance and abstract:

"Significance

RNA may have been the first informational molecule to support Darwinian evolution, and life, on Hadean Earth and/or Noachian Mars. Thus, any model that produces RNA from simple organic molecules is relevant to understanding how life emerged under an “RNA First” hypothesis.

Here, we analyze one model to form prebiotic RNA, finding that all steps are compatible with each other and with noncontroversial geochemical and geodynamical models.

Perhaps coincidentally, these steps most likely occurred 4.3 billion years ago, ca. 100 Mya before some molecular clocks approximate the divergence of the kingdoms of Earth life (ca. 4.2 Ga), and 200 Mya before isotopically “light” carbon is seen in 4.1 Ga zircons, perhaps the oldest trace of life on Earth.

Abstract

Models for prebiotic synthesis often have many steps, each separately validated by laboratory experiments. The challenge then asks whether these steps work together in natural geological environments, absent human intervention.

Here, we analyze a six-step Discontinuous Synthesis Model (DSM) for the prebiotic formation of RNA, proposed to be the first informational molecule to support Darwinian evolution, and life, on Earth and/or Mars.

DSM requires that borate in multiple steps guide the formation of pentoses from simple carbohydrates and control phosphorylation, in all cases by binding adjacent HO-groups on key intermediates. However, adjacent HO-groups must react in two other steps, which borate might inhibit.

Experiments here show that borate does not inhibit these two other steps, but rather facilitates them. This makes the six-step DSM a “no human intervention” route from simple precursors (1 to 3 carbons, 0 to 2 nitrogens) to oligomeric RNA with predominantly 3’,5’-linkages at least 6 nucleotides long, but possibly much longer.

The process
i) exploits privileged chemistry in
ii) intermittently irrigated aquifers constrained by basalt that
iii) have borate
iv) above a redox-neutral mantle
v) having access to an atmosphere transiently reduced by a Vesta-sized impactor.

In a possible coincidence, such an impact occurred most likely ca. 4.3 billion years ago (Ga), ~100 Mya before some molecular clocks date the divergence of the three kingdoms of life on Earth (4.2 Ga), and ca. 200 Mya before isotopically “light” carbon is reported in zircons dated at 4.1 Ga. This carbon may be the oldest trace of life ever proposed."

Life's first molecule: Borate boosts its formation, finds study

Interstep compatibility of a model for the prebiotic synthesis of RNA consistent with Hadean natural history (no public access)

Temporary dip in Earth’s magnetic field may have helped complex life emerge. Really!

This period of a weakened magnetosphere lasted only 26 million years! Does this geologically short blip matter so much?

"Complex life on Earth may have emerged more than 541 million years ago due to strange fluctuations in the planet’s unique magnetic field.

Unlike its 3 closest rocky planets, Earth produces a magnetosphere thanks to convective interactions in the planet’s iron core layers. This generates huge electrical currents that extend beyond the crust and form a ‘shield’ to protect against harmful solar radiation from the Sun. ...

Records show that soft-bodied animals underwent a surge in diversification 575-565 million years ago and likely due to increased oxygen in the atmosphere and ocean.

A dip in the strength of Earth’s magnetic field 591-565 million years ago happened alongside the oxygen spike. ...
The analysis indicates the massively weakened magnetic field persisted for around 26 million years. Tarduno’s team suggests the rise in the percentage of oxygen may have been caused by the escape of atmospheric hydrogen through the Earth’s weakened shield. ..."

"Researchers ... have uncovered compelling evidence that Earth’s magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when the macroscopic animals of the Ediacaran Period diversified and thrived. Their study ... raises the question of whether these fluctuations in Earth’s ancient magnetic field led to shifts in oxygen levels that may have been crucial to the proliferation of life forms millions of years ago. ...

Leveraging cutting-edge tools, including a CO2 laser and the lab’s superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer, the team analyzed with precision the crystals and the magnetism locked within. ...

A weak magnetic field makes it easier for charged particles from the sun to strip away lightweight atoms such as hydrogen from the atmosphere, causing them to escape into space. If hydrogen loss is significant, more oxygen may remain in the atmosphere instead of reacting with hydrogen to form water vapor. These reactions can lead to a buildup of oxygen over time. ..."

From the abstract:

"Earth’s magnetic field was in a highly unusual state when macroscopic animals of the Ediacara Fauna diversified and thrived. Any connection between these events is tantalizing but unclear. Here, we present single crystal paleointensity data from 2054 and 591 Ma pyroxenites and gabbros that define a dramatic intensity decline, from a strong Proterozoic field like that of today, to an Ediacaran value 30 times weaker. The latter is the weakest time-averaged value known to date and together with other robust paleointensity estimates indicate that Ediacaran ultra-low field strengths lasted for at least 26 million years. This interval of ultra-weak magnetic fields overlaps temporally with atmospheric and oceanic oxygenation inferred from numerous geochemical proxies. This concurrence raises the question of whether enhanced H ion loss in a reduced magnetic field contributed to the oxygenation, ultimately allowing diversification of macroscopic and mobile animals of the Ediacara Fauna."

Temporary dip in Earth’s magnetic field may have helped complex life emerge

Did a magnetic field collapse trigger the emergence of animals? (original news release) Evidence suggests a weak magnetic field millions of years ago may have fueled the proliferation of life.

Near-collapse of the geomagnetic field may have contributed to atmospheric oxygenation and animal radiation in the Ediacaran Period (open access)

Fig. 3: Paleointensity, oxygen and animal evolution.

How a mother’s microbiome helps shape her baby’s development during late pregnancy and the first year of life

Recommendable! Amazing stuff! Miracles of life!

"Appearing in Cell, the study is the first to uncover large-scale “horizontal gene transfer” events between different species of maternal and infant gut bacteria. The research also revealed a wide range of chemicals produced by the bacteria, or metabolites, that are unique to the baby. Together, the findings add to a growing appreciation for the complex physiological connection between mother and infant during early life. ...

[the] lab first began studying the microbiome ... eight years ago. Since then, they have investigated how gut bacteria fluctuate during early life, how early microbiome colonization influences risk for immune-related diseases like type 1 diabetes, allergy, asthama ansd inflammatory bowel disease, and how the microbiome varies in different places around the globe.

In this new study, [the] team aimed to more deeply explore the development of the microbiome during the first year of life. They sequenced bacterial DNA from stool samples from 70 mother-child pairs collected during late pregnancy through various stages of infancy.

In the infant gut bacterial genomes, the researchers pinpointed hundreds of genes that had originated in maternal bacteria. This indicates that the bacterial horizontal gene transfer from mother to baby isn’t a one-time event at childbirth, but an ongoing process throughout the baby’s first year of life.
Among the shared genes the team identified are many that encode proteins related to the infant diet, such as enzymes that break down complex sugars in breast milk. ...

The team also revealed microbiome and metabolome profiles in the infants that were distinct from and less diverse than those in their mothers, including hundreds of unique metabolites not seen in the mothers, such as neurotransmitters and immune modulators.

In the metabolomic profiles of young, breastfed infants, the scientists found substances known to boost inflammation in disease, suggesting that in very early life, the metabolites promote healthy maturation of the immune system. ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• Mobile genetic elements from maternal bacteria shape offspring gut microbiomes

• Microbiome and metabolome shifts in pregnancy may impact maternal metabolic health

• The infant gut harbors unique metabolites and species-metabolite relationships

• Diet modulates metabolomic profiles and immune system maturation in infants

Summary

The perinatal period represents a critical window for cognitive and immune system development, promoted by maternal and infant gut microbiomes and their metabolites. Here, we tracked the co-development of microbiomes and metabolomes from late pregnancy to 1 year of age using longitudinal multi-omics data from a cohort of 70 mother-infant dyads. We discovered large-scale mother-to-infant interspecies transfer of mobile genetic elements, frequently involving genes associated with diet-related adaptations. Infant gut metabolomes were less diverse than maternal but featured hundreds of unique metabolites and microbe-metabolite associations not detected in mothers. Metabolomes and serum cytokine signatures of infants who received regular—but not extensively hydrolyzed—formula were distinct from those of exclusively breastfed infants. Taken together, our integrative analysis expands the concept of vertical transmission of the gut microbiome and provides original insights into the development of maternal and infant microbiomes and metabolomes during late pregnancy and early life."

How a mother’s microbiome helps shape her baby’s development | Broad Institute

Mobile genetic elements from the maternal microbiome shape infant gut microbial assembly and metabolism (no public access)

Graphical abstract