Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 27 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5799, p. 561
DOI: 10.1126/science.314.5799.561f
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

This Week in Science

How did amino acids form in the prebiotic and hence pre-enzymatic world? Huber and Wächtershäuser (p. 630) show that iron and nickel particles can catalyze formation of alpha-amino and alpha-hydroxy acids by hydration of methyl thiolate and/or cyanide in basic aqueous solution with high-pressure CO when heated to 100°C. The authors argue that these conditions could have been provided in underwater volcanic vents on the early Earth. The results are consistent with a model whereby coordination of these and more complex organic reduction products to the metal centers progressively gave rise to Fe and Ni-containing hydrogenase enzymes.




To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)