The Classic Metal Behind the Origins of Life
When we think of life, we usually think of soft, squishy, and wet things. Or we might think of the “omes”: the genome, which carries our heredity code; or the proteome, which is the collection of proteins these genes assemble; or the metabolome, small molecules that facilitate our metabolic processes. These are the classical underpinnings of modern biology.
What we usually don’t think about is the metal counterpart, called the metallome. Where the other “omes” are full of complex structures and intricate biomachinery, the metallome is much simpler. It’s just a collection of metal atoms.
Nevertheless, it has done some remarkable things. It has enabled the chemistry at the heart of the other omes, acted as an interface between them and
