Origin of Life Early-Career Network
@oolen.bsky.social
International network of early-career researchers on the origin of life. Join us and subscribe to our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/iCsDR2
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🌟 Exciting news, we've just created a new list of OoLEN users that you can follow to stay connected with our vibrant network. 🎉
📢 OoLEN members: If you notice that you're not on the list, please reach out to us. 🤝
Let's keep building this awesome community together! 💙 #OoLEN
bsky.app/profile/did:...
📢 OoLEN members: If you notice that you're not on the list, please reach out to us. 🤝
Let's keep building this awesome community together! 💙 #OoLEN
bsky.app/profile/did:...
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
I'll be co-convening four sessions at #AbSciCon26 on topics ranging from AI-driven discovery to the origins of life to the intersection of astrobiology and philosophy.
Please consider submitting your abstracts to any and all of them!
Please consider submitting your abstracts to any and all of them!
November 24, 2025 at 7:35 PM
I'll be co-convening four sessions at #AbSciCon26 on topics ranging from AI-driven discovery to the origins of life to the intersection of astrobiology and philosophy.
Please consider submitting your abstracts to any and all of them!
Please consider submitting your abstracts to any and all of them!
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
We are now accepting abstracts for our session: Transition Metals in Habitability and Biological Evolution for AbSciCon 26! 🪨🧪🦠
Abstract submissions are open until Jan 14: agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon...
#AbSciCon
Abstract submissions are open until Jan 14: agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon...
#AbSciCon
November 21, 2025 at 7:27 PM
We are now accepting abstracts for our session: Transition Metals in Habitability and Biological Evolution for AbSciCon 26! 🪨🧪🦠
Abstract submissions are open until Jan 14: agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon...
#AbSciCon
Abstract submissions are open until Jan 14: agu.confex.com/agu/abscicon...
#AbSciCon
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
Excited to share that I’m also co-convening a second session at AbSciCon26 on Assembly Theory — from molecular complexity to planetary-scale biosignatures!
⏳ Abstract deadline: January 14, 2026
🌎 Details: bit.ly/4ie83pH
#AbSciCon26 #Astrobiology #AssemblyTheory #OriginsOfLife #Complexity
⏳ Abstract deadline: January 14, 2026
🌎 Details: bit.ly/4ie83pH
#AbSciCon26 #Astrobiology #AssemblyTheory #OriginsOfLife #Complexity
November 21, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Excited to share that I’m also co-convening a second session at AbSciCon26 on Assembly Theory — from molecular complexity to planetary-scale biosignatures!
⏳ Abstract deadline: January 14, 2026
🌎 Details: bit.ly/4ie83pH
#AbSciCon26 #Astrobiology #AssemblyTheory #OriginsOfLife #Complexity
⏳ Abstract deadline: January 14, 2026
🌎 Details: bit.ly/4ie83pH
#AbSciCon26 #Astrobiology #AssemblyTheory #OriginsOfLife #Complexity
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
Thrilled to share that I’m co-convening a session at AbSciCon26 in Madison WI focused on how self-assembly and self-organization drive chemistry toward the emergence of life! ✨
⏳Abstract deadline: January 14, 2026
🌎Details here: bit.ly/4oalWqi
#AbSciCon26 #Astrobiology #OriginsOfLife #Complexity
⏳Abstract deadline: January 14, 2026
🌎Details here: bit.ly/4oalWqi
#AbSciCon26 #Astrobiology #OriginsOfLife #Complexity
November 21, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Thrilled to share that I’m co-convening a session at AbSciCon26 in Madison WI focused on how self-assembly and self-organization drive chemistry toward the emergence of life! ✨
⏳Abstract deadline: January 14, 2026
🌎Details here: bit.ly/4oalWqi
#AbSciCon26 #Astrobiology #OriginsOfLife #Complexity
⏳Abstract deadline: January 14, 2026
🌎Details here: bit.ly/4oalWqi
#AbSciCon26 #Astrobiology #OriginsOfLife #Complexity
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
How could magmatic liquid immiscibility help to solve early Earth's phosphate problem? In a great collaboration with Daniel Weller and @irissmokers.bsky.social, we show how phosphate can be enriched in volcanic melts to fuel prebiotic chemistry.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Magmatic immiscibility provides phosphate for prebiotic chemistry
Volcanic immiscibility provides a key mechanism to enrich phosphate, fueling prebiotic chemistry.
www.science.org
November 20, 2025 at 8:48 AM
How could magmatic liquid immiscibility help to solve early Earth's phosphate problem? In a great collaboration with Daniel Weller and @irissmokers.bsky.social, we show how phosphate can be enriched in volcanic melts to fuel prebiotic chemistry.
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
Hey, that's our study! 😄
Using a machine learning technique that compares molecular fingerprints left behind by living organisms, researchers have detected signs of photosynthetic life in rocks 2.5 billion years old— about 800 million years older than previously confirmed evidence cen.acs.org/physical-che... #chemsky 🧪
Researchers report earliest molecular evidence of photosynthetic life
Machine learning analysis of bimolecular fragments pushes back time frame for detection of life
cen.acs.org
November 20, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Hey, that's our study! 😄
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
Our new biosignatures paper is out in @pnas.org! This time we're using machine learning trained on organic chemical data to identify signs of life—including photosynthetic life—in ancient rocks.
Organic geochemical evidence for life in Archean rocks identified by pyrolysis–GC–MS and supervised machine learning | PNAS
Throughout Earth’s history, organic molecules from both abiogenic and biogenic sources
have been buried in sedimentary rocks. Most of these organic...
www.pnas.org
November 17, 2025 at 8:55 PM
Our new biosignatures paper is out in @pnas.org! This time we're using machine learning trained on organic chemical data to identify signs of life—including photosynthetic life—in ancient rocks.
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
Happy to share some amazing news… 🎉
I successfully defended my PhD last month! It’s been a wonderful 17-year journey through four degrees across two very different fields. I’m grateful for everyone who helped along the way — and excited for what’s next.
Which brings me to update #2…
I successfully defended my PhD last month! It’s been a wonderful 17-year journey through four degrees across two very different fields. I’m grateful for everyone who helped along the way — and excited for what’s next.
Which brings me to update #2…
November 10, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Happy to share some amazing news… 🎉
I successfully defended my PhD last month! It’s been a wonderful 17-year journey through four degrees across two very different fields. I’m grateful for everyone who helped along the way — and excited for what’s next.
Which brings me to update #2…
I successfully defended my PhD last month! It’s been a wonderful 17-year journey through four degrees across two very different fields. I’m grateful for everyone who helped along the way — and excited for what’s next.
Which brings me to update #2…
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
Happy to share our new review on oligonucleotide chemical evolution on early Earth. We discuss how iterative sequence selection and diversification could have shaped RNA pools, facilitating sequence exploration and the emergence of ribozymes.
www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/biop...
www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/biop...
Selection–diversification interplay in oligonucleotide chemical evolution
The emergence of catalytic RNAs (ribozymes) may have set the stage for an “RNA world” preceding protein evolution. The probability of ribozyme emergen …
www.jstage.jst.go.jp
November 7, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Happy to share our new review on oligonucleotide chemical evolution on early Earth. We discuss how iterative sequence selection and diversification could have shaped RNA pools, facilitating sequence exploration and the emergence of ribozymes.
www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/biop...
www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/biop...
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
Happy to share our newest publication! 🤩
We found that DNA and RNA behave differently in primitive coacervates: RNA makes them more stable, DNA more fluid. Both properties are key for non-enzymatic DNA replication!
An incredible teamwork across continents! 😊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We found that DNA and RNA behave differently in primitive coacervates: RNA makes them more stable, DNA more fluid. Both properties are key for non-enzymatic DNA replication!
An incredible teamwork across continents! 😊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Differential stability and dynamics of DNA-based and RNA-based coacervates affect non-enzymatic RNA chemistry - Nature Communications
Mixtures of peptides and nucleic acids tend to demix and form coacervate droplets. Here, the authors show that even short peptides and oligonucleotides form droplets. DNA and RNA impart different prop...
www.nature.com
October 27, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Happy to share our newest publication! 🤩
We found that DNA and RNA behave differently in primitive coacervates: RNA makes them more stable, DNA more fluid. Both properties are key for non-enzymatic DNA replication!
An incredible teamwork across continents! 😊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We found that DNA and RNA behave differently in primitive coacervates: RNA makes them more stable, DNA more fluid. Both properties are key for non-enzymatic DNA replication!
An incredible teamwork across continents! 😊
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
The deadline is this Friday! You should apply to attend— it sounds like it’s going to be a blast!!! 💥
We are excited to announce the Artificial Life, Intelligence, Complexity & Evolution (𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗘) workshop. This first edition will be hosted in Copenhagen on the first week of February.
We will soon be announcing the guest speakers—Stay tuned!
Check our website for more information: aliceworkshop.org
We will soon be announcing the guest speakers—Stay tuned!
Check our website for more information: aliceworkshop.org
October 27, 2025 at 7:26 AM
The deadline is this Friday! You should apply to attend— it sounds like it’s going to be a blast!!! 💥
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
How to select primitive / synthetic replicators based their photocatalysis? Check out our manuscript just published in @natcatal.nature.com :
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#OoL #Origins #Prebiotic #Evolution
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#OoL #Origins #Prebiotic #Evolution
Selection for photocatalytic function through Darwinian evolution of synthetic self-replicators - Nature Catalysis
Darwinian evolution has shaped life on our planet through natural selection. Here, the authors report on the combination of self-replication, mutation and protometabolism in an out-of-equilibrium abio...
www.nature.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:19 AM
How to select primitive / synthetic replicators based their photocatalysis? Check out our manuscript just published in @natcatal.nature.com :
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#OoL #Origins #Prebiotic #Evolution
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#OoL #Origins #Prebiotic #Evolution
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
It's my birthday! If you feel like making my day, you can preorder my new book, Time's Second Arrow! Or just help me spread the word about it! Thank you 💛
Time's Second Arrow
“<em>Time’s Second Arrow</em> . . . present[s] an audacious hypothesis: that the increasing complexity observable in the history of life, the universe, and everything reflects a fundamenta...
wwnorton.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM
It's my birthday! If you feel like making my day, you can preorder my new book, Time's Second Arrow! Or just help me spread the word about it! Thank you 💛
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
I can’t wait! It’s going to be a blast!
This year's ALICE guest speakers 🧑🔬
- Angel Goñi-Moreno - @angelgm.bsky.social
- Alyssa Adams - @alyssa-m-adams.bsky.social
- Alexander Mordvintsev
- Eric Medvet - @ericmedvetts.bsky.social
- Kyrre Glette - @kyrre2000.bsky.social
- Stefano Nichele - @stenichele.bsky.social
- Susan Stepney
- Angel Goñi-Moreno - @angelgm.bsky.social
- Alyssa Adams - @alyssa-m-adams.bsky.social
- Alexander Mordvintsev
- Eric Medvet - @ericmedvetts.bsky.social
- Kyrre Glette - @kyrre2000.bsky.social
- Stefano Nichele - @stenichele.bsky.social
- Susan Stepney
October 13, 2025 at 10:08 AM
I can’t wait! It’s going to be a blast!
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
New in #PhilTransB - a theme issue exploring one of science’s deepest questions: how life can emerge from non-living matter. Edited by @ricardsole.bsky.social and colleagues. Read: buff.ly/7iz4tGu
October 3, 2025 at 8:15 PM
New in #PhilTransB - a theme issue exploring one of science’s deepest questions: how life can emerge from non-living matter. Edited by @ricardsole.bsky.social and colleagues. Read: buff.ly/7iz4tGu
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
After a long time in the making, my paper on nonequilibrium thermodynamics of Darwinian evolution has been published in Philosophical Transactions B. Updated version: arxiv.org/abs/2112.02809
October 7, 2025 at 9:33 AM
After a long time in the making, my paper on nonequilibrium thermodynamics of Darwinian evolution has been published in Philosophical Transactions B. Updated version: arxiv.org/abs/2112.02809
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
From ProtoSigns Lab in The Conversation this week – 'Could life exist on Mars today?'
Devyani Jambhule took the lead here – excellent from an early stage PhD student 👏
@protosignslab.bsky.social @theconversation.com @dcu-lsi.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @researchireland.ie
Devyani Jambhule took the lead here – excellent from an early stage PhD student 👏
@protosignslab.bsky.social @theconversation.com @dcu-lsi.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @researchireland.ie
Could life exist on Mars today? Here’s what the latest evidence says.
Piece by DCU's Dr Seán Jordan @seanfj.bsky.social and Devyani Jambhule for @uk.theconversation.com.
Read more here: launch.dcu.ie/4o8kgOC
Piece by DCU's Dr Seán Jordan @seanfj.bsky.social and Devyani Jambhule for @uk.theconversation.com.
Read more here: launch.dcu.ie/4o8kgOC
October 6, 2025 at 8:49 AM
From ProtoSigns Lab in The Conversation this week – 'Could life exist on Mars today?'
Devyani Jambhule took the lead here – excellent from an early stage PhD student 👏
@protosignslab.bsky.social @theconversation.com @dcu-lsi.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @researchireland.ie
Devyani Jambhule took the lead here – excellent from an early stage PhD student 👏
@protosignslab.bsky.social @theconversation.com @dcu-lsi.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social @erc.europa.eu @researchireland.ie
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
The University of Rochester has a faculty position opening in complexity science as well as other domains of theoretical physics. Please apply to join us in
studying the “physics of life” and other subjects
apply.interfolio.com/173432
studying the “physics of life” and other subjects
apply.interfolio.com/173432
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
September 30, 2025 at 7:21 PM
The University of Rochester has a faculty position opening in complexity science as well as other domains of theoretical physics. Please apply to join us in
studying the “physics of life” and other subjects
apply.interfolio.com/173432
studying the “physics of life” and other subjects
apply.interfolio.com/173432
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
Thrilled to share that I have been awarded a Future Leaders Fellowship! 🤩
I am really grateful to my colleagues at Cambridge Biochemistry for their support and to the UKRI for believing in me and funding this project!
Stay tuned for Research Assistant and Associate positions available!
I am really grateful to my colleagues at Cambridge Biochemistry for their support and to the UKRI for believing in me and funding this project!
Stay tuned for Research Assistant and Associate positions available!
UKRI announces winners of £120 million Future Leaders Fellowships
Research into the causes of lung cancer and Alzheimer’s disease are among 77 projects to be funded by UKRI’s Future Leaders Fellowships.
www.ukri.org
September 16, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Thrilled to share that I have been awarded a Future Leaders Fellowship! 🤩
I am really grateful to my colleagues at Cambridge Biochemistry for their support and to the UKRI for believing in me and funding this project!
Stay tuned for Research Assistant and Associate positions available!
I am really grateful to my colleagues at Cambridge Biochemistry for their support and to the UKRI for believing in me and funding this project!
Stay tuned for Research Assistant and Associate positions available!
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
🧪 Curious how chemistry becomes biology? Join OoLEN’s open seminar Thu Sep 12, 06:30 UTC (15:30 JST / 08:30 CEST) !
📣 We’ll share a short yearly update, then Tony Z Jia dives into Primitive Polyester Microdroplets on Early Earth. 🫧🌍
▶️ Live stream: youtube.com/@OoLEN_org
📣 We’ll share a short yearly update, then Tony Z Jia dives into Primitive Polyester Microdroplets on Early Earth. 🫧🌍
▶️ Live stream: youtube.com/@OoLEN_org
August 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM
🧪 Curious how chemistry becomes biology? Join OoLEN’s open seminar Thu Sep 12, 06:30 UTC (15:30 JST / 08:30 CEST) !
📣 We’ll share a short yearly update, then Tony Z Jia dives into Primitive Polyester Microdroplets on Early Earth. 🫧🌍
▶️ Live stream: youtube.com/@OoLEN_org
📣 We’ll share a short yearly update, then Tony Z Jia dives into Primitive Polyester Microdroplets on Early Earth. 🫧🌍
▶️ Live stream: youtube.com/@OoLEN_org
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
A new 5-year mission begins!
I'm so grateful to everyone at NASA Astrobiology for this opportunity to advance our search for life in the universe with @calebscharf.bsky.social and our team of amazing colleagues at @carnegiescience.bsky.social, NASA Ames, and beyond!
I'm so grateful to everyone at NASA Astrobiology for this opportunity to advance our search for life in the universe with @calebscharf.bsky.social and our team of amazing colleagues at @carnegiescience.bsky.social, NASA Ames, and beyond!
"We're at the edge of a new era in astrobiology. We've never had more data or more computing power. Now is the moment to bring it all together and finally ask—and maybe answer—the biggest question of all: Are we alone?"
-Michael Wong (@miquai.bsky.social)
More👇
carnegiescience.edu/news/can-we-...
-Michael Wong (@miquai.bsky.social)
More👇
carnegiescience.edu/news/can-we-...
Can We Teach A.I. to Detect Life? Carnegie Scientist Co-Leads NASA-Funded Effort
Are we alone in the universe? A new $5 million NASA-funded project co-led by Carnegie’s Michael Wong and NASA’s Caleb Scharf will train A.I. on a vast planetary dataset to recognize signs of life and…
carnegiescience.edu
August 26, 2025 at 11:11 PM
A new 5-year mission begins!
I'm so grateful to everyone at NASA Astrobiology for this opportunity to advance our search for life in the universe with @calebscharf.bsky.social and our team of amazing colleagues at @carnegiescience.bsky.social, NASA Ames, and beyond!
I'm so grateful to everyone at NASA Astrobiology for this opportunity to advance our search for life in the universe with @calebscharf.bsky.social and our team of amazing colleagues at @carnegiescience.bsky.social, NASA Ames, and beyond!
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
Out now in
@NAR_Open
! A #ribozyme can self-integrate into and hydrolyze ss- & dsDNA, offering a new avenue for the development of protein-free genome editing tools, and hinting at the possibility of a pre-translation origin of group II introns (G2Is). 🧬🧵 (1/7)
#intron #RNAworld
@NAR_Open
! A #ribozyme can self-integrate into and hydrolyze ss- & dsDNA, offering a new avenue for the development of protein-free genome editing tools, and hinting at the possibility of a pre-translation origin of group II introns (G2Is). 🧬🧵 (1/7)
#intron #RNAworld
Protein-free catalysis of DNA hydrolysis and self-integration by a ribozyme
Abstract. Group II introns are ancient self-splicing ribozymes and retrotransposons. Though long speculated to have originated before translation, their de
academic.oup.com
December 19, 2024 at 4:52 PM
🧪 Curious how chemistry becomes biology? Join OoLEN’s open seminar Thu Sep 12, 06:30 UTC (15:30 JST / 08:30 CEST) !
📣 We’ll share a short yearly update, then Tony Z Jia dives into Primitive Polyester Microdroplets on Early Earth. 🫧🌍
▶️ Live stream: youtube.com/@OoLEN_org
📣 We’ll share a short yearly update, then Tony Z Jia dives into Primitive Polyester Microdroplets on Early Earth. 🫧🌍
▶️ Live stream: youtube.com/@OoLEN_org
August 15, 2025 at 4:13 PM
🧪 Curious how chemistry becomes biology? Join OoLEN’s open seminar Thu Sep 12, 06:30 UTC (15:30 JST / 08:30 CEST) !
📣 We’ll share a short yearly update, then Tony Z Jia dives into Primitive Polyester Microdroplets on Early Earth. 🫧🌍
▶️ Live stream: youtube.com/@OoLEN_org
📣 We’ll share a short yearly update, then Tony Z Jia dives into Primitive Polyester Microdroplets on Early Earth. 🫧🌍
▶️ Live stream: youtube.com/@OoLEN_org
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
#POSTDOC position avaiable at @ istecnico.bsky.social. Combining modelling chemical networks, goal-directedness, & OOL. Good conditions, but needs to be filled ASAP by a person who is already allowed to legaly live & work in Portugal. Check full details at: euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/362411
Instituto Superior Técnico (@istecnico.bsky.social)
Instituto Superior TÉCNICO is the largest school of Architecture, Engineering, Science and Technology in Portugal, involving a community of 12000+ people on campus 🏛️🇵🇹
tecnico.ulisboa.pt
istecnico.bsky.social
July 21, 2025 at 12:39 PM
#POSTDOC position avaiable at @ istecnico.bsky.social. Combining modelling chemical networks, goal-directedness, & OOL. Good conditions, but needs to be filled ASAP by a person who is already allowed to legaly live & work in Portugal. Check full details at: euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/362411
Reposted by Origin of Life Early-Career Network
Interested in moving/establishing your research group in Ireland?
www.researchireland.ie/funding/glob...
I'd love to see more #originoflife #astrobiology researchers join us here!
Feel free to contact me directly to discuss!
@abgradcon.bsky.social @oolen.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social
www.researchireland.ie/funding/glob...
I'd love to see more #originoflife #astrobiology researchers join us here!
Feel free to contact me directly to discuss!
@abgradcon.bsky.social @oolen.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social
Global Talent Ireland - Research Ireland
Global Talent Ireland aims to attract exceptional mid-career and established researchers from across the globe to Ireland. Researchers funded through this programme are required to transfer their rese...
www.researchireland.ie
July 18, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Interested in moving/establishing your research group in Ireland?
www.researchireland.ie/funding/glob...
I'd love to see more #originoflife #astrobiology researchers join us here!
Feel free to contact me directly to discuss!
@abgradcon.bsky.social @oolen.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social
www.researchireland.ie/funding/glob...
I'd love to see more #originoflife #astrobiology researchers join us here!
Feel free to contact me directly to discuss!
@abgradcon.bsky.social @oolen.bsky.social @dcuresearch.bsky.social