Urea is a fundamental industrial chemical and may have played a central role in the origin of life.

ETH researchers have discovered a new reaction: the spontaneous formation of urea on aqueous surfaces from carbon dioxide (CO₂) and ammonia (NH₃).

Its formation does not require catalysts, pressure or heat, illustrating how urea may have accumulated on Early Earth.

The reaction also has the potential for sustainable and low-energy urea synthesis.

Citrate is essential for the metabolism and development of neurons. A membrane transport protein called SLC13A5 plays a central role in this process and has previously been linked to a particularly severe form of epileptic encephalopathy. Building on data from the recently completed RESOLUTE and REsolution flagship projects, scientists at CeMM have comprehensively studied the function and structure of the membrane transporter SLC13A5, experimentally investigating 38 mutant variants. Their findings, published in Science Advances (DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adx3011) shed new light on the mechanisms of this disease and lay the foundation for further research into epilepsy and other disorders.

A team of scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS) has uncovered a previously unknown mechanism that controls how genes are switched ‘on’ and ‘off’ during embryonic development. Their study sheds light on how diverse cell types are produced in developing embryos.