Abstract

Self-organizing precipitation processes, such as chemical gardens forming biomimetic micro- and nanotubular forms, have the potential to show us new fundamental science to explore, quantify, and understand nonequilibrium physicochemical systems, and shed light on the conditions for life's emergence. The physics and chemistry of these phenomena, due to the assembly of material architectures under a flux of ions, and their exploitation in applications, have recently been termed chemobrionics. Advances in understanding in this area require a combination of expertise in physics, chemistry, mathematical modeling, biology, and nanoengineering, as well as in complex systems and nonlinear and materials sciences, giving rise to this new synergistic discipline of chemobrionics.

Highlights

  • Chemobrionics [3] is a newly emerging field of fundamental nonlinear and complex systems science that intersects with physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science, and involves the study of biomimetic materials as complex systems based on self-organized structures involving semipermeable membranes and amorphous as well as polycrystalline solids

  • “Chemobrionics”—from “chemo” and Greek “bruein”— encompasses the classical chemical gardens as shown in Figure 1, but the field goes far beyond this centuries-old experiment

  • The same challenges are encountered by those seeking to comprehend how these physical and chemical processes may have taken part in the emergence of life on this planet and elsewhere in the universe, as these same chemobrionic systems are found at oceanic hydrothermal vents [5], and the hypothesis that life may have incubated within them over 4 billion years ago in the transition from geophysical and geochemical mechanisms to biology is today one of the most promising theories for the emergence of life on Earth [8, 39]

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Summary

Introduction

Chemobrionics [3] is a newly emerging field of fundamental nonlinear and complex systems science that intersects with physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science, and involves the study of biomimetic materials as complex systems based on self-organized structures involving semipermeable membranes and amorphous as well as polycrystalline solids. The same challenges are encountered by those seeking to comprehend how these physical and chemical processes may have taken part in the emergence of life on this planet and elsewhere in the universe, as these same chemobrionic systems are found at oceanic hydrothermal vents [5], and the hypothesis that life may have incubated within them over 4 billion years ago in the transition from geophysical and geochemical mechanisms to biology is today one of the most promising theories for the emergence of life on Earth [8, 39] Research related to these biomimetic nanotubular or microtubular systems is developing very fast, and much work is appearing from individual research groups, both in Europe and worldwide, related to the self-organized chemical-garden phenomenon. We are organizing networking workshops as well as chemical-garden demonstrations, exhibitions, and art–science installations that will involve researchers early in their careers, giving them an opportunity to develop research synergies, and to advocate for science

The State of the Art
The Origin of Life
A Network to Coordinate Research

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