A collective of chemical researchers has successfully adapted blockchain technology, commonly associated with cryptocurrency mining, to establish an extensive computational network. This network is dedicated to exploring the origins of life on Earth.
This application of blockchain demonstrates its versatility in addressing challenges outside the financial realm. Moreover, the study in question may have unearthed potential clues for researchers on the quest to understand the genesis of life.
The innovative process developed by the team suggests that certain rudimentary metabolic processes — the cellular chemical reactions that convert sustenance into energy — could have originated independently of enzymes, the proteins that typically accelerate these reactions.
The rationale behind the research team’s choice of blockchain technology for their groundbreaking conclusions is rooted in the complexity of pre-life, or “prebiotic,” chemistry. This field of study necessitates the examination of an overwhelming number of molecular reactions, potentially exceeding 11 billion permutations. Such extensive analysis demands considerable computational resources.
Confronted with the absence of a supercomputer to undertake this colossal research, the team, spearheaded by Bartosz Grzybowsk from the Korea Institute for Basic Science and the Polish Academy of Sciences, sought an alternative solution. They opted for “Golem,” a decentralized service that leverages the collective power of hundreds of computers globally. Golem facilitates intricate computations and, in return for the processing time, compensates contributors with cryptocurrency.
The exchange of computing power for cryptocurrency is a key feature of the system, as described by Grzybowski in an interview with Space.com. He clarified that neither he nor his team hold any stake in Golem, the platform they utilized. Their objective was to enhance their computational power, and Golem’s global computing network, supported by the collaboration of thousands and the use of approximately 20,000 CPUs worldwide, provided the necessary boost.
Initially, the researchers established the Network of Early Life (NOEL), a collection of molecules believed to have existed on primordial Earth about 4 billion years ago, such as water, methane, and ammonia. From the staggering 11 billion potential prebiotic reactions identified, they narrowed the scope to a more feasible 4.9 billion reactions.
Despite this significant reduction, Grzybowski noted that NOEL’s network was still about 100,000 times larger than that of their previous research on the origins of life, published in 2020.
Within NOEL, certain reactions are part of what are known as “metabolic pathways.” For example, glycolysis is a metabolic pathway where glucose is broken down to release energy. Other reactions resemble the Krebs cycle, essential for energy production in living organisms, while some are capable of synthesizing organic molecules like sugars and amino acids.
Surprisingly, from the billions of reactions processed through NOEL, only a few hundred resulted in molecules replicating themselves.
Grzybowski expressed his astonishment at the rarity of self-replicating reactions, estimating that only about one in a million cycles exhibited this capability. This finding is significant as self-replication, or “auto amplification,” is considered a vital component in the development of life.
For decades, a segment of chemists has hypothesized that during the early stages of chemical evolution, certain molecules may have naturally formed cycles that produced additional copies of themselves. These molecules could replicate more rapidly than others, potentially influencing the direction of evolution.
Conversely, another group of origin-of-life chemists contends that early prebiotic molecules were too simplistic to replicate in the manner of complex modern biological molecules, such as DNA. Grzybowski believes this research might resolve this longstanding debate, as it suggests, contrary to his initial assumptions, that self-replication did not occur prior to the evolution of larger molecules.
Grzybowski remains optimistic about the concept of self-replication, which he believes must have emerged at some stage, given that biological systems now exhibit this trait. The remaining question is at what point in their complexity did molecules begin to replicate themselves.
Regarding the utilization of Golem for the construction of expansive and potent computational networks, Grzybowski envisions its broader application among researchers who lack direct access to supercomputing facilities yet require substantial computational capacity.
He posits that a significant number of scientists are not endowed with the luxury of a personal supercomputer. These individuals could benefit from connecting to a platform like Golem, which is globally distributed, to harness the computational resources necessary for their research endeavors.
Grzybowski suggests that the societal perception of cryptocurrencies could shift positively if it were communicated that their use contributes to significant scientific breakthroughs, such as uncovering new biological principles or developing novel treatments for diseases like cancer. He believes that this could lead to a greater appreciation of cryptocurrencies’ value beyond mere financial transactions.
