S. J. Varma

Single amino acid-promoted reactions link a non-enzymatic chemical network to the early evolution of enzymatic pentose phosphate pathway

This paper shows how single amino acids can enhance non-enzymatic reactions similar to the pentose phosphate pathway, suggesting a stepwise evolution from environmental chemical networks to enzymatic metabolism.

A hydrogen dependent geochemical analogue of primordial carbon and energy metabolism

This paper demonstrates that hydrothermal minerals catalyze CO2 fixation with H2 under alkaline conditions, producing organic compounds similar to the acetyl-CoA pathway.

Metals enable a non-enzymatic acetyl CoA pathway

The paper demonstrates that transition metals fix CO2 into acetate and pyruvate, mimicking the AcCoA pathway, and supports the idea that CO2 fixation evolved from geochemical processes.