{"617825":{"#nid":"617825","#data":{"type":"news","title":"A COOL Center Based on Natural Quid Pro Quo ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERelationships based on \u0026ldquo;you scratch my back and I\u0026rsquo;ll scratch yours\u0026rdquo; are everywhere in the biological world. The recently established \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/cool.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ECenter for the Origin of Life\u003C\/a\u003E (COOL) will harness these mutualisms to unravel the distant past.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Mutualisms are persistent and reciprocal exchange of benefit. A species proficient in obtaining certain benefits confers those on a reciprocating partner,\u0026rdquo; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/~lw26\/\u0022\u003ELoren Williams\u003C\/a\u003E says. Williams is a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech. He will lead COOL. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/pub_releases\/2019-02\/rpi-nnr021219.php\u0022\u003EThe NASA-funded interdisciplinary team based in Georgia Tech is one of several groups cooperating to identify planetary conditions that might give rise to life.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe COOL team itself is enabled by mutualistic scientific collaborations. Joining \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ww2.chemistry.gatech.edu\/~lw26\/\u0022\u003EWilliams\u003C\/a\u003E as co-investigators are Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/people\/glass-dr-jennifer\u0022\u003EJennifer Glass\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/petrov\/anton\u0022\u003EAnton Petrov\u003C\/a\u003E, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cbs.umn.edu\/contacts\/kate-adamala\u0022\u003EKate Adamala\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cbs.umn.edu\/contacts\/aaron-engelhart\u0022\u003EAaron Engelhart\u003C\/a\u003E of the University of Minnesota, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.uh.edu\/nsm\/biology-biochemistry\/people\/profiles\/george-fox\/\u0022\u003EGeorge Fox\u003C\/a\u003E from University of Houston, and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.uakron.edu\/cpspe\/about-us\/faculty\/profile.dot?id=b6b8f392-c202-4c77-a2e5-22293b1e63ad\u0022\u003ENita Sahai\u003C\/a\u003E from University of Akron.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGlass is an assistant professor in the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. Petrov is a research scientist in the Schools of Chemistry and Biochemistry and of Biological Sciences. Williams and Glass are members of the Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We represent a rare symbiosis of biochemists and geochemists,\u0026rdquo; Glass says. \u0026ldquo;This gives us a unique vantage point from which to tackle this big question that no single discipline can solve alone.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWilliams and his team have discovered that inanimate species \u0026ndash; such as molecules, metals, and minerals \u0026ndash; engage in mutualism relationships. Those interactions can explain much about modern biology and the origin of life, Williams says. \u0026ldquo;Mutualisms are fundamental drivers in evolution, ecology, and economics. They sponsor coevolution, foster innovation, increase fitness, inspire robustness, and foster resilience.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe COOL team aims to use mutualism phenomena to develop tools to study the origins and evolution of life on Earth. One area of study is the mutualism between metals and biomolecules under ancient-Earth conditions, such as between ferrous iron and proteins to form metalloproteins.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAnother is the mutualism between minerals and biomolecules, such as between metal sulfide nanoclusters and RNA, peptides, and lipids to form functional biopolymers.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Understanding how minerals interact with small organic molecules or biopolymers could help predict whether similar processes could occur on other worlds,\u0026rdquo; Sahai says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe team will also study mutualisms in the most ancient universal life processes: translation and replication. \u0026ldquo;We are studying how nucleic acids and proteins joined forces as the biochemical foundation of life,\u0026rdquo; Petrov says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe ribosome, the universal cellular machine where proteins are made, is a molecular relict where nucleic and acids and proteins work side by side to translate genotype to phenotype.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;The ribosome is a molecular fossil. It\u0026rsquo;s a window to the emergence of life,\u0026rdquo; Engelhart says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;We are exploring alternative pathways for the evolution of the translation system,\u0026rdquo; Adamala says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;A key to understanding the translation system is by integrating a vast array of information,\u0026rdquo; Fox says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECOOL is one of four Teams in NASA\u0026rsquo;s recently launched\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/prebioticchem.info\/\u0022\u003E Prebiotic Chemistry and Early Earth Environments (PCE\u003Csub\u003E3\u003C\/sub\u003E) Consortium\u003C\/a\u003E. One of PCE\u003Csub\u003E3\u003C\/sub\u003E\u0026rsquo;s goals is to guide future NASA missions to discover habitable worlds by understanding how conditions on Earth gave rise to life.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWilliams is a member of the steering committee of PCE\u003Csub\u003E3\u003C\/sub\u003E. \u0026ldquo;I am particularly excited to frame the beginnings of life within the context of our planet\u0026rsquo;s early, dynamic habitability and to use those lessons to imagine how planets around distant stars similarly could have favored the origins and evolution of life,\u0026rdquo; Williams said about PCE\u003Csub\u003E3\u003C\/sub\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFigure Caption\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCOOL principal investigators are (clockwise from top left) Kate Adamala, Aaron Engelhart, George Fox, Loren Williams, Nita Sahai, Anton Petrov, and Jennifer Glass.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"The Center for the Origin of Life (COOL) will explore the origins and evolution of life on Earth"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ERelationships based on \u0026ldquo;you scratch my back and I\u0026rsquo;ll scratch yours\u0026rdquo; are everywhere in the biological world. The recently established \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/cool.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ECenter for the Origin of Life\u003C\/a\u003E (COOL) will harness these mutualisms to unravel the distant past.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The Center for the Origin of Life (COOL) will explore the origins and evolution of life on Earth."}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2019-02-14 13:59:28","changed_gmt":"2019-02-14 14:37:57","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2019-02-14T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2019-02-14T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"617826":{"id":"617826","type":"image","title":"Earth (Courtesy of Rensselaer)","body":null,"created":"1550153940","gmt_created":"2019-02-14 14:19:00","changed":"1550153940","gmt_changed":"2019-02-14 14:19:00","alt":"","file":{"fid":"235176","name":"Earth (Courtesy of Rensselaer).6x3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Earth%20%28Courtesy%20of%20Rensselaer%29.6x3.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Earth%20%28Courtesy%20of%20Rensselaer%29.6x3.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":119017,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Earth%20%28Courtesy%20of%20Rensselaer%29.6x3.jpg?itok=5ibpm2lQ"}},"617723":{"id":"617723","type":"image","title":"COOL principal investigators","body":null,"created":"1550009974","gmt_created":"2019-02-12 22:19:34","changed":"1550012081","gmt_changed":"2019-02-12 22:54:41","alt":"COOL researchers Kate Ademala, Aaron Engelhart, George Fox, Loren Williams, Nita Sahai, Anton Petrov, and Jennifer Glass","file":{"fid":"235134","name":"2019 COOL Glass Petrov Williams.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2019%20COOL%20Glass%20Petrov%20Williams_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2019%20COOL%20Glass%20Petrov%20Williams_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":485868,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2019%20COOL%20Glass%20Petrov%20Williams_0.png?itok=ZtNsuuY2"}},"617724":{"id":"617724","type":"image","title":"COOL logo","body":null,"created":"1550010051","gmt_created":"2019-02-12 22:20:51","changed":"1550010051","gmt_changed":"2019-02-12 22:20:51","alt":"Logo for the Center for the Origin of Life","file":{"fid":"235132","name":"2019 cool_logo_transparent.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2019%20cool_logo_transparent.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2019%20cool_logo_transparent.png","mime":"image\/png","size":36647,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2019%20cool_logo_transparent.png?itok=xBOyn5-l"}}},"media_ids":["617826","617723","617724"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"EAS"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"}],"categories":[{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"180522","name":"Center for the Origin of Life"},{"id":"10720","name":"Loren Williams"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi, Ph.D.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}