ConspectusOrigin of Life research is a fast growing field of study with each year bringing new breakthroughs. Recent discoveries include novel syntheses of life's building blocks, mechanisms of activation and interaction between molecules, and newly identified environments that provide promising conditions for these syntheses and mechanisms. Even with these new findings, firmly grounded in rigorous laboratory experiments, researchers often find themselves uncertain about how to apply them. How can a bridge be built between the laboratory and the geochemical environment? A critical question to ask when seeking to apply new results in origins is: how can this chemistry occur without direct intervention from a chemist? We believe the first step toward answering this question lies in the determination of rate constants and the construction of chemical networks to describe prebiotic chemistry in geochemical environments.So far, our group has measured several rate constants relevant to different prebiotic reaction networks, starting with the synthetic pathways of the cyanosulfidic network. The reactions we explore often involve ultraviolet light-driven photochemistry, facilitated by our StarLab setup that accurately simulates the spectrum of the young Sun and other stars. Our latest work investigates environments with active photochemistry in the absence of cyanide. In this study, we measure the effective rate constant for the production of formate from the reduction of carbon species using sulfite within the context of early Martian waters. The underlying goal of the work done in our group is to predict the likelihood that certain geological conditions will result in a specific set of chemical products. These predictions can be combined with those we have made for the necessary astrophysical conditions in certain origins of life scenarios on extrasolar planets.In the near future we expect that a sufficient number of rate constants will be measured, by our group and others, to allow for aspects of prebiotic chemistry to be predicted using chemical kinetics models. Once these models have been benchmarked against experimental data, our next step will be applying them to natural environments that better mimic the conditions thought to have been present at the onset of life. Following this, we can test these models by comparing their predictions to additional experiments. After refinement, these models will be able to provide guidance on the optimal conditions for conducting laboratory experiments, while helping to minimize and characterize any interference from a chemist.This approach can provide valuable insights into what is possible within geochemical environments, where all chemistry is by necessity do-nothing chemistry.

Skyla B. White

Paul B. Rimmer

Accounts of Chemical Research

ACCOUNTS OF CHEMICAL RESEARCH 提供简短、简洁和批判性的文章，提供化学和生物化学所有领域的基础研究和应用的易于阅读的概述。此外，ACCOUNTS OF CHEMICAL RESEARCH 还出版了专门针对具有不寻常活动和意义的单一问题的特刊。访问 ACCOUNTS SPECIAL ISSUES 页面，查看所有特殊问题的列表、描述和 TOC。从 2008 年开始，ACCOUNTS OF CHEMICAL RESEARCH 将其传统的文章摘要替换为文章“CONSPECTUS”。这些新条目概述了研究，使读者可以更仔细地了解文章的内容和意义。通过对文章内容的更详细描述，CONSPECTUS 提高了文章在搜索引擎中的可发现性和研究的曝光率。

Accounts of Chemical Research publishes concise, clear, and critical articles that provide accessible overviews of fundamental research and applications across all areas of chemistry and biochemistry. Additionally, Accounts of Chemical Research publishes special issues focused on single topics of unusual activity and significance. You can visit the Accounts of Chemical Research Special Issues page to view a list of all special issues, their descriptions, and tables of contents. Since 2008, Accounts of Chemical Research has replaced traditional article abstracts with 'CONSPECTUS.' These new entries summarize the research, allowing readers to gain a deeper understanding of the content and significance of the articles. By providing a more detailed description of the article content, CONSPECTUS enhances the discoverability of articles in search engines and increases the visibility of the research.

《Accounts of Chemical Research》提供简短、清晰且具有批判性的文章，涵盖化学和生物化学各个领域的基础研究和应用，旨在为读者提供易于理解的概述。此外，《Accounts of Chemical Research》还出版专门针对具有特殊活动和重要性的单一主题的特刊。您可以访问《Accounts of Chemical Research》特刊页面，查看所有特刊的列表、描述和目录。从2008年开始，《Accounts of Chemical Research》将传统的文章摘要替换为“CONSPECTUS”，这些新条目概述了研究内容，使读者能够更深入地理解文章的内容和意义。通过对文章内容的详细描述，CONSPECTUS提高了文章在搜索引擎中的可发现性和研究的曝光率。

Category	Quartile
化学	1
化学, 化学综合	1

Do-Nothing Prebiotic Chemistry: Chemical Kinetics as a Window into Prebiotic Plausibility

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Category	Quartile
CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY	1