Bio-habitability and life on planets of M-G-type stars

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (S345) ◽  
pp. 189-193
Author(s):  
Amri Wandel

AbstractThe recent detection of Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri, Trappist-1, and many other nearby M-type stars (which consist some 75% of the stars) has led to speculations, whether liquid water and life actually exist on these planets. Defining the bio-habitable zone, where liquid water and complex organic molecules can survive on at least part of the planetary surface, we suggest that planets orbiting M-type stars may have life-supporting conditions for a wide range of atmospheric properties (Wandel2018). We extend this analysis to synchronously orbiting planets of K- and G-type stars and discuss the implications for the evolution and sustaining of life on planets of M- to G-type stars, in analogy to Earth.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Jeanine Rismondo ◽  
Lisa Maria Schulz

ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are usually involved in the translocation of their cognate substrates, which is driven by ATP hydrolysis. Typically, these transporters are required for the import or export of a wide range of substrates such as sugars, ions and complex organic molecules. ABC exporters can also be involved in the export of toxic compounds such as antibiotics. However, recent studies revealed alternative detoxification mechanisms of ABC transporters. For instance, the ABC transporter BceAB of Bacillus subtilis seems to confer resistance to bacitracin via target protection. In addition, several transporters with functions other than substrate export or import have been identified in the past. Here, we provide an overview of recent findings on ABC transporters of the Gram-positive organisms B. subtilis and Listeria monocytogenes with transport or regulatory functions affecting antibiotic resistance, cell wall biosynthesis, cell division and sporulation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Wandel ◽  
J. Gale

AbstractThe Kepler data show that habitable small planets orbiting Red Dwarf stars (RDs) are abundant, and hence might be promising targets to look at for biomarkers and life. Planets orbiting within the habitable zone of RDs are close enough to be tidally locked. Some recent works have cast doubt on the ability of planets orbiting RDs to support life. In contrast, it is shown that temperatures suitable for liquid water and even for organic molecules may exist on tidally locked planets (TLPs) of RDs for a wide range of atmospheres. We chart the surface temperature distribution as a function of the irradiation, greenhouse factor and heat circulation. The habitability boundaries and their dependence on the atmospheric properties are derived. By extending our previous analyses of TLPs, we find that tidally locked as well as synchronous (not completely locked) planets of RDs and K-type stars may support life, for a wider range of orbital distance and atmospheric conditions than previously thought. In particular, it is argued that life clement environments may be possible on tidally locked and synchronously orbiting planets of RDs and K-type stars, with conditions supporting oxygenic photosynthesis, which on Earth was a key to complex life. Different climate projections and the biological significance of tidal locking on putative complex life are reviewed. We show that when the effect of continuous radiation is taken into account, the photo-synthetically active radiation available on TLPs, even of RDs, could produce a high-potential plant productivity, in analogy to mid-summer growth at high latitudes on Earth. Awaiting the findings of TESS and JWST, we discuss the implications of the above arguments to the detection of biomarkers such as liquid water and oxygen, as well as to the abundance of biotic planets and life.


2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (S293) ◽  
pp. 323-325
Author(s):  
Takanori Kodama ◽  
Hidenori Genda ◽  
Yutaka Abe ◽  
Kevin Zahnle

AbstractExistence of liquid water on the planetary surface is thought to be an important condition for the origin and evolution of life. Planets with oceans (or lakes) are classified in two types: Earth-like ‘aqua planets’ and less water ‘land planets’. The latter shows stronger resistance than the former to the runaway greenhouse caused by the increase of stellar luminosity. We examined the possibility of evolution from an aqua planet to a land planet by water loss. We showed that an aqua planet with less than about 0.1 present Earth's ocean mass can evolve to a land planet without having experience of the runaway greenhouse, and maintains liquid water on its surface for about 2Gyrs longer than planets with larger amount of water. Our results mean that the initial amount of water is important for their evolution paths and habitability.


2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (S251) ◽  
pp. 147-156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy M. Ziurys

AbstractOne of the few carbon-rich environments found in interstellar space is the ejecta of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. Such material, which forms a circumstellar envelope, becomes enriched in carbon due to “dredge-up” phenomena associated with nucleosynthesis. A unique organic synthesis flourishes in the gas phase in these envelopes, and radio and millimeter observations have identified a wide range of C-bearing compounds, including long acetylenic chains such as HC5N, HC7N, C4H, C6H, C8H, C6H−, C8H−, and C3O. Oxygen-rich envelopes also have a non-negligible carbon chemistry, fostering species such as HCN and HCO+. Phosphorus chemistry appears to be active as well in circumstellar shells, as evidenced by the recent detections of HCP, CCP, and PO. Radio observations also indicate that some fraction of the circumstellar molecular material survives into the planetary nebula stage, and then becomes incorporated into diffuse, and eventually, dense clouds. The complex organic molecules found in dense clouds such as Sgr B2(N) may be the products of “seed” material that can be traced back to the carbon-enriched circumstellar gas.


Synlett ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (16) ◽  
pp. 1657-1661
Author(s):  
Yuqiang Li ◽  
Guoyin Yin

AbstractCross-coupling reactions are essential for the synthesis of complex organic molecules. Here, we report a nickel-catalyzed Ullmann cross-coupling of two sp2-hybridized organohalides, featuring high cross-selectivity when the two coupling partners are used in a 1:1 ratio. The high chemoselectivity is governed by the bathocuproine ligand. Moreover, the mild reductive reaction conditions allow that a wide range of functional groups are compatible in this Ullmann cross-coupling.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sukdev Bag ◽  
Sadhan Jana ◽  
Sukumar Pradhan ◽  
Suman Bhowmick ◽  
Nupur Goswami ◽  
...  

<p>Despite the widespread applications of C–H functionalization, controlling site selectivity remains a significant challenge. Covalently attached directing group (DG) served as an ancillary ligand to ensure proximal <i>ortho</i>-, distal <i>meta</i>- and <i>para</i>-C-H functionalization over the last two decades. These covalently linked DGs necessitate two extra steps for a single C–H functionalization: introduction of DG prior to C–H activation and removal of DG post-functionalization. We introduce here a transient directing group for distal C(<i>sp<sup>2</sup></i>)-H functionalization <i>via</i> reversible imine formation. By overruling facile proximal C-H bond activation by imine-<i>N</i> atom, a suitably designed pyrimidine-based transient directing group (TDG) successfully delivered selective distal C-C bond formation. Application of this transient directing group strategy for streamlining the synthesis of complex organic molecules without any necessary pre-functionalization at the distal position has been explored.</p>


Author(s):  
Christian Devereux ◽  
Justin Smith ◽  
Kate Davis ◽  
Kipton Barros ◽  
Roman Zubatyuk ◽  
...  

<p>Machine learning (ML) methods have become powerful, predictive tools in a wide range of applications, such as facial recognition and autonomous vehicles. In the sciences, computational chemists and physicists have been using ML for the prediction of physical phenomena, such as atomistic potential energy surfaces and reaction pathways. Transferable ML potentials, such as ANI-1x, have been developed with the goal of accurately simulating organic molecules containing the chemical elements H, C, N, and O. Here we provide an extension of the ANI-1x model. The new model, dubbed ANI-2x, is trained to three additional chemical elements: S, F, and Cl. Additionally, ANI-2x underwent torsional refinement training to better predict molecular torsion profiles. These new features open a wide range of new applications within organic chemistry and drug development. These seven elements (H, C, N, O, F, Cl, S) make up ~90% of drug like molecules. To show that these additions do not sacrifice accuracy, we have tested this model across a range of organic molecules and applications, including the COMP6 benchmark, dihedral rotations, conformer scoring, and non-bonded interactions. ANI-2x is shown to accurately predict molecular energies compared to DFT with a ~10<sup>6</sup> factor speedup and a negligible slowdown compared to ANI-1x. The resulting model is a valuable tool for drug development that can potentially replace both quantum calculations and classical force fields for myriad applications.</p>


Organics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-117
Author(s):  
Mattia Forchetta ◽  
Valeria Conte ◽  
Giulia Fiorani ◽  
Pierluca Galloni ◽  
Federica Sabuzi

Owing to the attractiveness of organic phosphonic acids and esters in the pharmacological field and in the functionalization of conductive metal-oxides, the research of effective synthetic protocols is pivotal. Among the others, ω-bromoalkylphosphonates are gaining particular attention because they are useful building blocks for the tailored functionalization of complex organic molecules. Hence, in this work, the optimization of Michaelis–Arbuzov reaction conditions for ω-bromoalkylphosphonates has been performed, to improve process sustainability while maintaining good yields. Synthesized ω-bromoalkylphosphonates have been successfully adopted for the synthesis of new KuQuinone phosphonate esters and, by hydrolysis, phosphonic acid KuQuinone derivatives have been obtained for the first time. Considering the high affinity with metal-oxides, KuQuinones bearing phosphonic acid terminal groups are promising candidates for biomedical and photo(electro)chemical applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen R. Lehmer ◽  
David C. Catling ◽  
Joshua Krissansen-Totton

AbstractIn the conventional habitable zone (HZ) concept, a CO2-H2O greenhouse maintains surface liquid water. Through the water-mediated carbonate-silicate weathering cycle, atmospheric CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) responds to changes in surface temperature, stabilizing the climate over geologic timescales. We show that this weathering feedback ought to produce a log-linear relationship between pCO2 and incident flux on Earth-like planets in the HZ. However, this trend has scatter because geophysical and physicochemical parameters can vary, such as land area for weathering and CO2 outgassing fluxes. Using a coupled climate and carbonate-silicate weathering model, we quantify the likely scatter in pCO2 with orbital distance throughout the HZ. From this dispersion, we predict a two-dimensional relationship between incident flux and pCO2 in the HZ and show that it could be detected from at least 83 (2σ) Earth-like exoplanet observations. If fewer Earth-like exoplanets are observed, testing the HZ hypothesis from this relationship could be difficult.


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