The DOI matches its Crossref record; 59 of the 60 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Cold Origin of Life: B. Implications Based on Pyrimidines and Purines Produced From Frozen Ammonium Cyanide Solutions
Abstract
A wide variety of pyrimidines and purines were identified as products of a dilute frozen ammonium cyanide solution that had been held at -78 degrees C for 27 years. This demonstrates that both pyrimidines and purines could have been produced on the primitive earth in a short time by eutectic concentration of HCN, even though the concentration of HCN in the primitive ocean may have been low. We suggest that eutectic freezing is the most plausible demonstrated mechanism by which HCN polymerizations could have produced biologically important prebiotic compounds.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Second, the rate at which different monomers are polymerized can vary by an order of magnitude (6,17–20).”
From Prebiotically plausible mechanisms increase compositional diversity of nucleic acid sequences (2012) · cites this paper as [6]
In the citing paper
“For example, a concentrated eutectic phase solution of ammonium cyanide yields significantly more adenine than guanine, uracil and cytosine (roughly 10× or more) (6).”
From Prebiotically plausible mechanisms increase compositional diversity of nucleic acid sequences (2012) · cites this paper as [6]
Citations
Cites
Handbook of derivatives for chromatography
Blau, K., & Halket, J. M. (1978) · Andalas University Repository (Andalas University) · Cited by 795
Activated Acetic Acid by Carbon Fixation on (Fe,Ni)S Under Primordial Conditions
Huber, C., & Wächtershäuser, G. (1997) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.276.5310.245 · Cited by 714
Huber, C., & Wächtershäuser, G. (1998) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.281.5377.670 · Cited by 645
Enzymatic incorporation of a new base pair into DNA and RNA extends the genetic alphabet
Piccirilli, J. A., Benner, S. A., Krauch, T., Moroney, S. E., & Benner, S. A. (1990) · Nature · doi:10.1038/343033a0 · Cited by 636
Infrared Observations of the Saturnian System from Voyager 1
Hanel, R., Conrath, B. J., Flasar, F. M., Kunde, V. G., Maguire, W., Pearl, J. C., Pirraglia, J. A., Samuelson, R. E., Herath, L. W., Allison, M., et al. (1981) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.212.4491.192 · Cited by 576
Calvin, M. (1969) · PubMed · Cited by 560
Synthesis of adenine from ammonium cyanide
Oro, J. A. (1960) · Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications · doi:10.1016/0006-291x(60)90138-8 · Cited by 482
A Nonhyperthermophilic Common Ancestor to Extant Life Forms
Galtier, N., Tourasse, N., & Gouy, M. (1999) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.283.5399.220 · Cited by 442
Primordial Carbonylated Iron-Sulfur Compounds and the Synthesis of Pyruvate
Cody, G. D., Boctor, N. Z., Filley, T. R., Hazen, R. M., Scott, J. H., Sharma, A., & Yoder, H. S. (2000) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.289.5483.1337 · Cited by 441
Mechanism of Synthesis of Adenine from Hydrogen Cyanide under Possible Primitive Earth Conditions
ORÓ, J. (1961) · Nature · doi:10.1038/1911193a0 · Cited by 396
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Corliss, J. B., Baross, J. A., and Hoffman, S. E.: 1981, An Hypothesis Concerning the Relationship between Submarine Hot Springs and the Origin of Life on Earth, Oceanologica Acta Supplement to Vol. 4, 59–69.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 101–174 of 174
Rouch, D. A. (2014) · Journal of Theoretical Biology · doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2014.06.003 · Cited by 15
Wang, K.-J., & Ferris, J. P. (2005) · Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres · doi:10.1007/s11084-005-0657-8 · Cited by 15
Guanine synthesis from 4-aminoimidazole-5-carbonitrile: A computational mechanistic study
Choe, J. C. (2018) · Chemical Physics Letters · doi:10.1016/j.cplett.2018.08.004 · Cited by 14
From Democritus to Schrödinger: a reflection on quantum molecular modeling
Vasilescu, D., & Adrian-Scotto, M. (2010) · Structural Chemistry · doi:10.1007/s11224-010-9665-z · Cited by 13
Kawamura, K., & Maeda, J. (2007) · Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres · doi:10.1007/s11084-006-9063-0 · Cited by 14
Hernández‐Rodríguez, M., Xie, J. H., Osornio, Y. M., & Krishnamurthy, R. (2011) · Chemistry - An Asian Journal · doi:10.1002/asia.201000828 · Cited by 13
Dissipative Photochemical Abiogenesis of the Purines
Hernández, C., & Michaelian, K. (2022) · Entropy · doi:10.3390/e24081027 · Cited by 12
Kawamura, K., & Maeda, J. (2008) · The Journal of Physical Chemistry A · doi:10.1021/jp801969g · Cited by 14
Kim, E., Martin, V., & Krishnamurthy, R. (2017) · Chemistry - A European Journal · doi:10.1002/chem.201702912 · Cited by 12
Kawamura, K., Nagahama, M., & Kuranoue, K. (2005) · Advances in Space Research · doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.04.071 · Cited by 11
Prebiotic Synthesis of ATP: A Terrestrial Volcanism-Dependent Pathway
Chu, X., & Zhang, H. (2023) · Life · doi:10.3390/life13030731 · Cited by 11
Infrared Spectral Signatures of Nucleobases in Interstellar Ices I: Purines
Rosa, C. A., Bergantini, A., Herczku, P., Mifsud, D. V., Lakatos, G., Kovács, S., Sulik, B., Juhász, Z., Ioppolo, S., Quitián-Lara, H. M., et al. (2023) · Life · doi:10.3390/life13112208 · Cited by 9
Self-catalytic mechanism of prebiotic reactions: from formamide to pterins and guanine
Enchev, V., & Slavova, S. (2021) · Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics · doi:10.1039/d1cp02158c · Cited by 11
Primordial soup, fool's gold, and spontaneous generation
McNichol, J. C. (2008) · Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education · doi:10.1002/bmb.20194 · Cited by 11
The Prebiotic Chemistry of Alternative Nucleic Acids
Cleaves, H. J., & Bada, J. L. (2012) · Cellular origin and life in extreme habitats · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-2941-4_1 · Cited by 12
Self-citationMackinawite‐Supported Reduction of C 1 Substrates into Prebiotically Relevant Precursors
Grosch, M., Stiebritz, M. T., Bolney, R., Winkler, M., Jückstock, E., Busch, H., Peters, S., Siegle, A. F., van Slageren, J., Ribbe, M. W., et al. (2022) · ChemSystemsChem · doi:10.1002/syst.202200010 · Cited by 9
Marín‐Yaseli, M. R., González‐Toril, E., & Ruiz‐Bermejo, M. (2020) · Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences · doi:10.3389/fspas.2020.519017 · Cited by 9
Benner, S. A., Kim, H.-J., & Biondi, E. (2018) · Nucleic Acids and Molecular Biology · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-93584-3_3 · Cited by 10
Self-Shielding Enhanced Organics Synthesis in an Early Reduced Earth’s Atmosphere
Yoshida, T., Koyama, S., Nakamura, Y., Terada, N., & Kuramoto, K. (2024) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2024.0048 · Cited by 9
Structure of 2,4-Diaminopyrimidine–Theobromine Alternate Base Pairs
Gengeliczki, Z., Callahan, M. P., Kabeláč, M., Rijs, A. M., & de Vries, M. S. (2011) · The Journal of Physical Chemistry A · doi:10.1021/jp205831n · Cited by 8
The Use of Ascorbate as an Oxidation Inhibitor in Prebiotic Amino Acid Synthesis: A Cautionary Note
Kuwahara, H., Eto, M., Kawamoto, Y., Kurihara, H., Kaneko, T., Obayashi, Y., & Kobayashi, K. (2012) · Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres · doi:10.1007/s11084-012-9296-z · Cited by 10
Impact of M Dwarfs Ultraviolet Radiation on Prebiotic Chemistry: The Case of Adenine
Armas-Vázquez, M. Z., González‐Espinoza, C. E., Segura, A., Heredia, A., & Miranda-Rosete, A. (2023) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2022.0050 · Cited by 8
Dalluge, J. J., & Connell, L. B. (2013) · Extremophiles · doi:10.1007/s00792-013-0577-x · Cited by 8
Compatibility of Amino Acids in Ice Ih: Implications for the Origin of Life
Hao, J., Giovenco, E., Pedreira-Segade, U., Montagnac, G., & Daniel, I. (2018) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/ast.2017.1735 · Cited by 8
Hammer, P. G., Yi, R., Yoda, I., Cleaves, H. J., & Callahan, M. P. (2018) · International Journal of Astrobiology · doi:10.1017/s1473550418000265 · Cited by 8
Self-citationNucleic acid bases in Titan tholins and possible genetic systems in the Titan liquidosphere
Kawai, J., Kebukawa, Y., McKay, C. P., & Kobayashi, K. (2018) · Life Sciences in Space Research · doi:10.1016/j.lssr.2018.11.002 · Cited by 7
Higgins, P. M., Chen, W., Glein, C. R., Cockell, C. S., & Lollar, B. S. (2024) · Journal of Geophysical Research Planets · doi:10.1029/2023je008166 · Cited by 7
Kumar, A., & Kamaluddin, K. (2012) · Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres · doi:10.1007/s11084-012-9319-9 · Cited by 7
The Chemistry of the Origin of Life
Botta, O. (2004) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/1-4020-2305-7_15 · Cited by 7
Microbial life in martian ice: A biotic origin of methane on Mars?
Price, P. B. (2010) · Planetary and Space Science · doi:10.1016/j.pss.2010.04.013 · Cited by 7
Nucleobases on the Primitive Earth: Their Sources and Stabilities
Cleaves, H. J. (2018) · Nucleic acids and molecular biology · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-93584-3_1 · Cited by 6
Self-citationA Suggested Pioneer Organism for the Wächtershäuser Origin of Life Hypothesis
Kundell, F. A. (2010) · Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres · doi:10.1007/s11084-010-9217-y · Cited by 6
A Novel Synthesis of Biomolecular Precursors
Saladino, R., Crestini, C., Ciciriello, F., Costanzo, G., Negri, R., & Mauro, E. D. (2004) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/1-4020-2305-7_16 · Cited by 6
Zhang, X., & Krishnamurthy, R. (2009) · Angewandte Chemie · doi:10.1002/ange.200904188 · Cited by 5
A Perspective on the Importance of Reproductive Mode in Astrobiology
Doninck, K. V., Schön, I., & Martens, K. (2003) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1089/153110703322735999 · Cited by 5
Mini-ribozymes and freezing environment: a new scenario for the early RNA worldPreprint
Vlassov, A. V. (2005) · doi:10.5194/bgd-2-1719-2005 · Cited by 5
Low-Temperature Limits of Microbial Growth and Metabolism
Price, P. B. (2014) · ASM Press eBooks · doi:10.1128/9781555817183.ch12 · Cited by 4
The Prebiotic Chemistry of Nitrogen and the Origin of Life
Summers, D. P. (2012) · Cellular origin and life in extreme habitats · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-2941-4_12 · Cited by 4
On the Ability of Formaldehyde to Act as a Tethering Catalyst in Water
Jamshidi, M. P., Macdonald, M., & Beauchemin, A. M. (2017) · Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres · doi:10.1007/s11084-017-9538-1 · Cited by 4
Chu, X., Chen, S.-M., Zhao, K., Tian, T., Gao, J., & Zhang, H. (2021) · Life · doi:10.3390/life11080738 · Cited by 4
Hypothesized Microenvironments for the Origin of Microbial Life on Earth
Trevors, J. T., Bej, A. K., & van Elsas, J. D. (2012) · Cellular origin and life in extreme habitats · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-2941-4_39 · Cited by 4
Bakaeva, A., Chazhengina, S. Y., & Светов, С. А. (2024) · Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology · doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2024.112319 · Cited by 3
Sanden, S., Butch, C. J., Bartlett, S., Virgo, N., Sekine, Y., & McGlynn, S. E. (2024) · iScience · doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.111088 · Cited by 3
Ditzler, M. A., Popović, M., & Zajkowski, T. (2022) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-824162-2.00010-5 · Cited by 3
Shimizu, M. (2007) · Journal of the Physical Society of Japan · doi:10.1143/jpsj.76.053801 · Cited by 3
Experimental Models on the Prebiotic Formation of Biopolymer Building Blocks
Menor-Salván, C., & Ruiz‐Bermejo, M. (2025) · Astrobiology · doi:10.1177/15311074251365950 · Cited by 5
How Does Adenine Form from Hydrogen Cyanide?
Cappelletti, M., & Rahm, M. (2026) · Journal of the American Chemical Society · doi:10.1021/jacs.5c09522 · Cited by 3
Ring‐Closure on the Rocks in a Prebiotic Environment
Ter‐Ovanessian, L. M. P., Maurel, M., & Lambert, J. (2023) · ChemBioChem · doi:10.1002/cbic.202300143 · Cited by 2
EIS UND DIE ENTSTEHUNG DES LEBENS (ICE AND THE ORIGIN OF LIFE)
Trinks, H., Schröder, W. P., & Biebricher, C. Κ. (2003) · Cited by 2
Expliquer les origines de la vie : structures et schèmes explicatifs
Malaterre, C. (2008) · Noesis · doi:10.4000/noesis.1656 · Cited by 3
Precambrian Lunar Volcanic Protolife
Green, J. (2009) · International Journal of Molecular Sciences · doi:10.3390/ijms10062681 · Cited by 2
Gate, G., Williams, A., Boldissar, S., Šponer, J., Szabla, R., & de Vries, M. S. (2023) · Photochemistry and Photobiology · doi:10.1111/php.13897 · Cited by 2
Cleaves, H. J. (2015) · Encyclopedia of Astrobiology · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_587 · Cited by 2
Self-citationCleaves, H. J. J. (2023) · Encyclopedia of Astrobiology · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-65093-6_587 · Cited by 2
Self-citationO’Sullivan, T. R., Bera, P. P., Khawaja, N., Napoleoni, M., Abel, B., & Postberg, F. (2026) · ACS Earth and Space Chemistry · doi:10.1021/acsearthspacechem.5c00318 · Cited by 1
Origin of the Genetic Code and Abiotic Synthesis of Organic Compounds
Martins, Z. (2012) · Cellular origin and life in extreme habitats · doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4966-5_16 · Cited by 1
HCN-Derived Polymers: From Prebiotic Chemistry to Materials Science
Ruiz‐Bermejo, M., de la Fuente, J. L., Pérez-Fernández, C., & Mateo‐Martí, E. (2024) · Advances in material research and technology · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-62186-4_3 · Cited by 1
Origins of Life, Molecular Basis of
Ferris, J. P. (2006) · Wiley-VCH eBooks · doi:10.1002/3527600906.mcb.200400020
RNA-mediated chemistries: a case of replication and capping
Zaher, H. S. (2007) · Summit (Simon Fraser University)
How Did Initial Life-Related Molecules Appear on Earth?
Makishima, A. (2017) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-812058-3.00009-0
Callahan, M. P. (2014) · Encyclopedia of Astrobiology · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1080-3
Cleaves, H. J. (2014) · Encyclopedia of Astrobiology · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_587-3
Self-citationCallahan, M. P. (2015) · Encyclopedia of Astrobiology · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-44185-5_1080
The Handy Formamide Model System for Prebiotic Chemistry
Saladino, R., Bizzarri, B. M., & Mauro, E. D. (2022) · Royal Society of Chemistry eBooks · doi:10.1039/9781839164798-00293
Cleaves, H. J. J. (2022) · Encyclopedia of Astrobiology · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_587-4
Self-citationCallahan, M. P. (2023) · Encyclopedia of Astrobiology · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-65093-6_1080
Ferreira, G. W., Pintor, B. E., Samulewski, R. B., & Zaia, D. A. M. (2025) · ACS Omega · doi:10.1021/acsomega.5c03351
Rauchfuss, H., & Mitchell, T. N. (2008) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-540-78823-2_7
Ter‐Ovanessian, L. M. P. (2022) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/127363f6z9511z4582z9a7azd31ee7d91f30
Phosphorylation of prebiotic precursors on the early Earth
Shvetsova, A. (2023) · theses.fr (ABES) · doi:10.70675/f29e48aezf058z4ca4za37czb7fc87d89620
The RNA World Hypothesis: A Critical Reassessment of Prebiotic Plausibility
Truman, R. J. (2026) · BioCosmos · doi:10.2478/biocosmos-2026-0003
Formation and redox evolution of Earth’s early atmosphere and hydrosphere
Vulpius, S., Runge, E., Herwartz, D., Pack, A., Brachmann, C., & Noack, L. (2026) · Nature Reviews Earth & Environment · doi:10.1038/s43017-026-00803-0
Distribution of purine and pyrimidine bases in Antarctic carbonaceous meteorites
Oba, Y., Tomaru, T., Koga, T., Furukawa, Y., SUNAMI, S., Yoshimura, T., Hirakawa, Y., Ogawa, N. O., Ohkouchi, N., Kuwamoto, K., et al. (2026) · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta · doi:10.1016/j.gca.2026.06.040
Metadata
- Authors
- Miyakawa, S., Cleaves, H. J., & Miller, S. L.
- Affiliations
- Yokohama National University (JP)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- ORCID
- Cleaves, H. James
- Venue
- Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere
- Published
- 2002-06
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 209-218
- ISSN
- 0169-6149 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-0875
- OpenAlex
- W1570440484
- Cited by
- 174
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 15
- FWCI
- 4.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Space Science and Extraterrestrial Life
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
- Keywords
- origin of life, pyrimidines, purines, ammonium cyanide, frozen solutions, prebiotic chemistry, early Earth, nucleobase synthesis
- MeSH terms
- Origin of Life, Cold Temperature, Cyanides, Purines, Pyrimidines, Solutions
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review