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What it takes to solve the origins of life: An integrated review. Part 2: Theoretical methods and emerging trends

Asche, Silke, Bautista, Carla, Blanco, Celia, Boulesteix, David, Champagne-Ruel, Alexandre, Mathis, Cole orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-8424-9169, Markovitch, Omer, Peng, Zhen, Dass, Avinash Vicholous, Adams, Alyssa, Camprubi, Eloi, Colizzi, Enrico Sandro, Colón-Santos, Stephanie, Dromiack, Hannah, Erastova, Valentina, Garcia, Amanda, Grimaud, Ghjuvan, Halpern, Aaron, Harrison, Stuart A., Jordan, Seán F. orcid logoORCID: 0000-0001-8403-1100, Jia, Tony Z., Kahana, Amit, Kolchinsky, Artemy, Moron-Garcia, Odin, Mizuuchi, Ryo, Nan, Jingbo, Orlova, Yuliia, Pearce, Ben K.D., Paschek, Klaus, Preiner, Martina, Pinna, Silvana, Rodríguez-Román, Eduardo, Schwander, Loraine, Sharma, Siddhant, Smith, Harrison B., Vieira, Andrey and Xavier, Joana C. (2026) What it takes to solve the origins of life: An integrated review. Part 2: Theoretical methods and emerging trends. Cell Reports Physical Science, 7 (4). p. 103211. ISSN 2666-3864

Abstract
The origin(s) of life (OoL), which has puzzled scientists for centuries, remains a major scientific challenge in the 21st century. Understanding the processes relevant to the OoL demands theoretical frameworks that can connect processes across scales, from microscopic dynamics to emergent levels of organization. While experimental studies generate a wealth of data, theoretical and computational approaches provide the structure necessary to interpret and generalize these findings. In Part 1, we examined the most widely used experimental techniques in the field. Here, we focus on the mathematical, physical, and computational techniques used to model phenomena relevant to life’s origin(s). We discuss methods ranging from quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics to chemical reaction networks, autocatalysis, and evolutionary modeling, as well as information-theoretic and phylogenetic approaches that link chemical and biological organization. We further highlight emerging trends such as synthetic biology, omics-based methods, and laboratory automation as novel points of contact for theory-experiment integration. Ultimately, we aim to provide an educational tool that can facilitate more post-disciplinary collaborations in OoL research by helping scientists understand what they can do about the problem of life’s origins, rather than telling them how to think about it.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Subjects:Biological Sciences > Biochemistry
Humanities > Biological Sciences > Biochemistry
Biological Sciences > Microfluidics
Humanities > Biological Sciences > Microfluidics
Physical Sciences > Analytical chemistry
Physical Sciences > Chemistry
Physical Sciences > Organic chemistry
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health
DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Chemical Sciences
Publisher:Cell Press
Official URL:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/...
Copyright Information:Authors
Funders:Research Ireland, European Research Council, 'la Caixa' Foundation
ID Code:32569
Deposited On:05 May 2026 14:16 by Sean Jordan . Last Modified 05 May 2026 14:16
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