A time-lapse video of seeded crystallization

Coenzymes are involved in a third of enzymatic reactions, but did they have a function before enzymes? We show that catalysis of transamination by the pyridoxal scaffold is greatly and specifically enhanced by Fe(III) or Al(III) ions. Out now in J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1/2

Cool to see that the work continues on a scaffold developed during my PhD

Thrilled, to see our take on coenzymes, metals, and catalysis in JACS!

Welcome Emilie Werner, PhD and Silvana Pinna 🚀 to the coenzyme catalysis club!

Can stereochemistry be transferred in metabolism before enzymes? We show that metal ions allow the RNA-derived cofactor NADH to reduce keto acids stereoselectively, linking the worlds of metabolism and genetic molecules at the emergence of life. doi.org/10.26434/chemr…

Can the tools of physical organic and computational chemistry help to understand the emergence of life? Out on ChemRxiv, we characterize a pathway that allows metal ions to enable stereoselective reduction reactions without any enzymes Joseph Moran. doi.org/10.26434/chemr…

Sending off Robert Mayer to his, amazing to be sure, independent career: rjmayerlab.com Great scientist, colleague, and friend!

To reconstruct the origin of metabolism, conditions where multiple metabolic subnetworks can work together must be identified. Here, hydrogen gas drives nonenzymatic analogs of amino acid biosynthesis and the reverse Krebs cycle together in one pot without human intervention.

Ever wonder why nature uses coenzymes and what role they might have played before enzymes had emerged? Check out our mini-review Science Advances summarizing our recent work on the nonenzymatic reactivity of PL(P), NADH and ATP. Quentin Dherbassy Robert Mayer doi.org/10.1126/sciadv…

Thanks to European Research Council (ERC) and VolkswagenStiftung for supporting this work.

Delighted to share that I have been named one of the #FWIS2024 Fondation L'Oréal UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 French Young Talents in recognition of my scientific path ! A big congrats to the other 34 awardees ✨️ #ForWomenInScience