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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
05:58
Detecting and Characterizing Protein Self-Assembly In Vivo by Flow Cytometry
Published on: July 17, 2019
Self-organized criticality and information processing in gypsum-proteinoid assemblies
Panagiotis Mougkogiannis1, Andrew Adamatzky1
1Unconventional Computing Laboratory, University of the West of England, Bristol, BS16 1QY, UK.
Bioelectrochemistry (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
|July 17, 2026
Summary
Mineral-organic composites formed with gypsum exhibit slow, spontaneous electrical oscillations for over 70 hours. This suggests minerals played a role in early electrochemical processes before life emerged.
Area of Science:
- Geochemistry
- Biochemistry
- Electrochemistry
Background:
- The origin of life likely involved interactions between minerals and organic molecules.
- Understanding early electrochemical dynamics is crucial for origin of life studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate gypsum-mediated proteinoid formation.
- To characterize the electrochemical properties of mineral-organic composites.
- To explore the potential role of minerals in prebiotic electrochemical processes.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of proteinoid-gypsum composites via thermal condensation.
- Analysis of electrochemical properties using impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry.
- Characterization of electrical oscillations and power spectral density.
Main Results:
- Composites showed spontaneous electrical oscillations lasting over 70 hours.
- A significant decrease in impedance (20-fold) was observed compared to pure proteinoids.
- Slow, multiscale electrochemical dynamics were identified, with a mean firing rate of 2.31×10-4 Hz.
Conclusions:
- Gypsum-mediated mineral-organic composites exhibit unique, slow electrochemical dynamics.
- These findings support the hypothesis that minerals were involved in organizing early electrochemical processes.
- Prebiotic systems may have possessed organized electrochemical activity prior to cellular life.
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