MARUM Research Academy
Report of Joely Maak
Molecular Origins of Life Conference (MOM 2024) in Munich, Germany from 19 to 20 July 2024
The Molecular Origins of Life Munich (MOM 2024) conference was held from July 19-20, 2024, in the Great Aula of LMU Munich. This annual event alternates between online and in-person formats, with in-person meetings held in Munich every other year. The two-day conference featured 24 talks, focusing on the latest advancements in understanding the prebiotic processes and molecular mechanisms that could have led to the emergence of life. Key topics included the dynamics of fluid-rock interactions in organic synthesis, the engineering of synthetic protocells, and the exploration of environmental parameters affecting prebiotic chemistry in hydrothermal systems.
I presented a poster titled "Exceptionally opposing trends in carbon and hydrogen isotope fractionation of chemoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria at shallow hydrothermal vents," which examined the combined usage of δ2H and δ13C to detect extreme environments in the past. Particularly interesting to me were the talks by Stephen Mojzsis (HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Budapest) on Hadean Earth, Frank Postberg (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany) on Enceladus and its geochemistry, and Cornelia Meinert (Institut de Chimie de Nice, France) on enantiomeric excess in meteorites.
Although the conference did not focus on organic geochemistry, my primary area of interest, it improved my understanding of biological processes relevant to my research. Additionally, I connected with other researchers working in similar environments using very different methods. Therefore, also the discussions with other researchers about my poster were very fruitful. I gained valuable insights into the genetic aspects of my topic, and in return, I was able to demonstrate the significance of lipid biomarkers to them.
I would like to express my gratitude to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) for funding my Ph.D. and enabling conference visits like these through the Cluster of Excellence EXC 2077 ‘The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface.’