Experimental and numerical modeling of liposome congregation in meteorite craters of Early Earth

Fuente: arXiv
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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Subbotin, Vladimir M., Turner, Benjamin A., Davies, Brian A., Lopez, Alric G., Fiksel, Gennady
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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_version_ 1866912922742030336
author Subbotin, Vladimir M.
Turner, Benjamin A.
Davies, Brian A.
Lopez, Alric G.
Fiksel, Gennady
author_facet Subbotin, Vladimir M.
Turner, Benjamin A.
Davies, Brian A.
Lopez, Alric G.
Fiksel, Gennady
contents This paper provides experimental and numerical evidence supporting the occurrence of liposome congregation at the floors of meteor craters on Early Earth. This work builds on our earlier research, which demonstrated that liposomes submerged in a shallow Archean pond are protected from harmful UV radiation. This protection allows them to survive long enough for autocatalytic replication of amphiphiles and for mutation and selection of assemblies that maximize membrane stability. For liposomes to fuse, grow, exchange contents and membranes, and divide, they need to establish a population, which means forming a dense conglomerate that enables close physical contact. The study demonstrates that such a congregation is feasible in bowl-shaped meteor craters on Early Earth, especially under periodic seismic disturbances.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_18510
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Experimental and numerical modeling of liposome congregation in meteorite craters of Early Earth
Subbotin, Vladimir M.
Turner, Benjamin A.
Davies, Brian A.
Lopez, Alric G.
Fiksel, Gennady
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Populations and Evolution
This paper provides experimental and numerical evidence supporting the occurrence of liposome congregation at the floors of meteor craters on Early Earth. This work builds on our earlier research, which demonstrated that liposomes submerged in a shallow Archean pond are protected from harmful UV radiation. This protection allows them to survive long enough for autocatalytic replication of amphiphiles and for mutation and selection of assemblies that maximize membrane stability. For liposomes to fuse, grow, exchange contents and membranes, and divide, they need to establish a population, which means forming a dense conglomerate that enables close physical contact. The study demonstrates that such a congregation is feasible in bowl-shaped meteor craters on Early Earth, especially under periodic seismic disturbances.
title Experimental and numerical modeling of liposome congregation in meteorite craters of Early Earth
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics
Populations and Evolution
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.18510