Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution
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Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution
@ffame.org
Interdisciplinary organization led by Dr. Steven Benner combining chemistry, synthetic biology & astrobiology, translating basic research into medical and commercial technologies. Visit our website at https://ffame.org/.
Here is the recording of the talk "Venus’s Cloud Liquid Is More Light-Absorbing Than Your Blood"!
Venus’s Cloud Liquid Is More Light-Absorbing Than Your Blood
YouTube video by ALFA Mars
www.youtube.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:40 PM
The talk will focus on the recent discoveries made @ffame.org about how organic compounds react in the presence of sulfuric acid and this related astrobiology on Venus! Link below!

astro.ufl.edu/colloquia/
Colloquia
astro.ufl.edu
November 3, 2025 at 8:21 PM
This eLetter motivates the long-needed back-and-forth discussion of the astrobiological potential of near-surface Martian soils. This back-and-forth may belatedly undo the damage that this propagation of errors has done to Mars exploration.
October 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM
This misunderstanding of this fundamental detail of Martian near surface geology has damaged efforts to design missions to explore Mars, now for 50 years.
October 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM
A recent and prominent example comes in a NASA-endorsed 2021 "Community Report From the Biosignatures Standards of Evidence Workshop" chaired by Victoria Meadows (University of Washington) and Heather Graham (NASA-GFCS), whose premises included this propagated mistake.
October 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Further repetition of these mistakes led to their further amplification and propagation. The compounded mistakes eventually appeared even in leading astrobiology textbooks and NASA-endorsed documents.
October 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM
This evolved into the view that the Martian soil is "self-sterilizing" because it contained a powerful "mystery" oxidant, and therefore could not possibly hold extant Martian life.
October 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM
This mistake published in Science caused multiple generations of astrobiologists to believe incorrectly that the Martian soil contained no organic molecules.
October 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM
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October 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM
5) Enzymatic synthesis and nanopore sequencing of 12-letter supernumerary DNA
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

6) A folding motif formed with an expanded genetic alphabet
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
October 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM
3) Artificial Genetic Systems: Self-Avoiding DNA in PCR and Multiplexed PCR
doi.org/10.1002/anie...

4) Artificially Expanded Genetic Information Systems for New Aptamer Technologies
doi.org/10.3390/biom...
Artificial Genetic Systems: Self‐Avoiding DNA in PCR and Multiplexed PCR
Discerning in their choice of partner: The DNA of a self-avoiding molecular-recognition system (SAMRS) binds to natural DNA but not to members of the same SAMRS. Multiplexed PCR with an SAMRS based o...
doi.org
October 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM
We would like to highlight the following articles as an introduction to our research:

1) Hachimoji DNA and RNA: A genetic system with eight building blocks
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

2) Catalytic Synthesis of Polyribonucleic Acid on Prebiotic Rock Glasses
doi.org/10.1089/ast....
Hachimoji DNA and RNA: A genetic system with eight building blocks
DNA that includes synthetic bases expands the genetic code from four to eight nucleotide letters
www.science.org
October 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM
FfAME has a long standing history of producing a plethora of outstanding research covering nucleotide chemistry, synthetic biology, origins of life, astrobiology, and diagnostic technologies.
October 16, 2025 at 3:01 PM