Os semimetais na origem e evolução da vida

Bioaccumulation of chemical elements in fish from areas affected by oil on the coast of Bahia, Brazil

In 2019, the Brazilian coast was affected by the largest oil spill in its history. We assessed the levels of chemical elements in Lutjanus synagris and Haemulon aurolienatum fish from Itacaré (least affected area), Tinharé-Boipeba (most affected area) and Madre de Deus (chronically affected area). The level of metals differed between species, tissues, life cycle phases, maturation stages and between sampled locations, indicating the influence of biological and environmental aspects on bioaccumulation. Only fish in Madre de Deus showed lead contamination, while arsenic concentrations in the three areas exceeded the maximum value acceptable by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency). It is suggested that the oil spill may have impacted species differently, also having an impact in fish from less affected areas. However, metal concentrations in fish in Madre de Deus stood out when compared to populations in other studied areas.

Borophosphates and silicophosphates as plausible contributors to the emergence of life

Scientific explanations for the origin of life are incomplete and may differ on some issues. Here, we argue that some prebiological steps have occurred in environments with borophosphates and/or silicophosphates in the form of hydrogels, on the basis of their chemical groups and structural properties. These could have decreased the diffusion rate of some prebiotic molecules, stabilized molecules with vicinal cis-diol groups, reduced the hydrolytic activity of water and inserted catalytic metal ions into their networks. Additionally, these hydrogels could have acted as reaction media, supplied a phosphate source for phosphorylations and produced crystals that may have permitted enantiomeric enrichment of prebiotic molecules, thus providing conditions for the emergence of protocells.