The research activities of NCCR Genesis are organised along the following research questions and research projects.
What processes generate the transition from prebiotic molecules to biological entities?
Reactions at surfaces and interfaces
PI Jeroen van Bokhoven
Out-of-equilibrium dynamics in prebiotic multiphase environments
PI Ivo Furno
Driven self-organisation of prebiotic chemical reaction networks
PI Paolo De Los Rios
The rise of molecular complexity – amyloids
PI Roland Riek
The rise of molecular complexity – RNA
PI Nicolas Winssinger
Geochemical origins of life
PI Samuel Jaccard
What are the conditions that enable biological evolution, and how does life impact planetary environments?
Primordial life-hosting environments
PI Paolo Sossi
Athmospheric diversity on abiotic ocean worlds
PI Caroline Dorn
Tectonic impacts on atmosphere and ocean
PI Emeline Bolmont
Co-evolution of planets and life
PI Loïc Pellissier
Climate and biogeochemical response to catastrophic events
PI Thomas Frölicher
Exploring origin-of-life analogue environments
PI Nina Zeyen
What defines a planetary environment as a cradle of prebiotic chemistry, and how do we refine the search for geological and biological signatures?
Prevalence of life in our Solar System
PI Audrey Vorburger
Tracking atmosphere-lithosphere interactions via volatile elements
PI Johanna Marin Carbonne
In situ detection of organics
PI Andreas Riedo
Remote sensing of microorganisms
PI Brice-Olivier Demory
Detecting chemolithoautotrophs
PI Cara Magnabosco
Quantifying the detectability of life on exoplanets
PI Sascha Quanz
Detecting biopigments on Earth and beyond
PI Svetlana Berdyugina
Viral control of photosynthetic biosignatures
PI Alice Bosco Santos