For their research, the scientists selected water, methane, and ammonia as primary molecules and defined parameters for chemical reactions. By converting the data into a computer-readable format, they utilized blockchain technology to perform calculations on a vast chain of reactions named the Network of Early Life (NOEL). The calculations were made possible using the Golem platform.
As a result, the chemists successfully identified echoes of familiar metabolic pathways and witnessed the synthesis of 128 basic biotic molecules. Surprisingly, only a subset of the studied reactions demonstrated cell self-reproduction, challenging previous hypotheses regarding the primary mechanism for the emergence of life on Earth.
“Blockchain expands access to science for smaller universities and institutions worldwide, particularly in developing nations. Additionally, with platforms like Golem, large-scale computing becomes more cost-effective and efficient, enabling groundbreaking discoveries in computation. Society can leverage blockchain as a tool to uncover new biological laws or invent innovative drugs,” Grzybowski explained.
Recently, attendees at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos made the decision to leverage blockchain technology in order to regulate the outputs of artificial intelligence (AI) systems, preventing bias in neural networks.