NASA Postdoctoral Program - ICAR: Emergence of a Complex Biochemical System: Evolutionary Paths to Coded Protein Synthesis

The NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) offers unique research opportunities to highly-talented scientists to engage in ongoing NASA research projects. This specific opportunity focuses on understanding how complex biological systems emerge through evolution of simpler forms, particularly the emergence of the genetic code of protein translation. The research investigates what evolutionary advantages parts and intermediate forms leading to coded protein synthesis could have conferred to primitive cells, potentially initially unrelated to protein translation. The project involves three general stages: experimental and computational determination of evolutionary advantages of translation parts in a protocell context; theoretical modeling of evolutionary dynamics; and experimental measurements defining possible evolutionary advantages of the earliest translation systems. These one- to three-year competitive fellowships are designed to advance NASA's missions in space science, Earth science, aeronautics, space operations, exploration systems, and astrobiology.