The Disputation will be live streamed for everyone else.
The livestream will be activated 15 minutes before the Defense starts.
Trial lecture
April 19th, 10:15 AM, Auditorium 3, Chemistry building
Trial lecture title:
"Necessary molecules for protocell formation in the prebiotic era, like water, (phospho-)lipids, RNA, etc: What do we know about their origin?"
The trial lecture will be live streamed for everyone else.
The livestream will be activated 15 minutes before the trial lecture starts.
Kreeringssammendrag/Conferral summary
Lin Xue har observert og karakterisert en mulig måte å kommunisere mellom primitive celler gjennom tunnelerende nanorør under tidlige jordiske forhold. Xue har også undersøkt de underliggende rollene til faste overflater og temperaturøkning under dannelsen av membranbaserte primitive celler og nanorør ved livets opprinnelse.
Main research findings
Tunneling nanotubes are ubiquitous in long-distance communication in all domains of life. Similarly, spontaneously formed lipid nanotubes could have allowed the transport of diffusive cargo among primitive cells without the need to cross membrane boundaries.
This thesis provides the experimental evidence for the origin of life hypothesis on protocell populations. Protocells may have emerged under prebiotic conditions and formed colony-like protocell populations, in the transition to the first living cell populations. These processes can be accelerated by temperature increase in local environment. Within protocell population, each individual protocell is capable of exchanging contents with its neighbors, mediated by the interconnected membrane nanotubes.
The interactions between protocells and their adhering solid surfaces are the focus of this thesis. Specifically, the intrinsic energies of solid surfaces, such as minerals and rocks on early Earth, can be harvested by organic molecules adhering to them. By adhering to engineered silica surfaces, lipid assemblies have been found to undergo topological transformations, including tubulation, vesiculation, and fusion. These observations have therefore led to the suggestion that natural surfaces may have initiated the development of protocell populations with communicating properties.
Candidate contact information
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lin-xue-969309253
Email: lin.xue@ncmm.uio.no
Tel. +47 46639179