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Scientists have found that one of the key pillars of theory around how life works – that it depends on carbon – may not be the case on other planets. Here on Earth, life depends on organic compounds which are composed of carbon, and often involve other elements such as sulphur, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and phosphorus. With organic compounds, life is partly sustained by chemical interactions called autocatalysis, which are self-sustaining. That means they produce molecules which then enable the reaction to happen again, and do not need any outside influence to keep going on. In the new study, scientists looked for autocatalysis in non-organic compounds. The theory is that if autocatalysis helps drive a process called abiogenesis – the origin process for life – then this origin process could also come from non-organic matter. Betül Kaçar, an astrobiologist, bacteriologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told news outlet Space.com: “It's important to explore these possibilities so that we have an idea of what all forms of life can look like, not just Earth life.” "One of the major reasons that origin-of-life researchers care about autocatalysis is because reproduction — a key feature of life — is an example of autocatalysis. “Life catalyses the formation of more life. One cell produces two cells, which can become four and so on. “As the number of cells multiply, the number and diversity of possible interactions multiplies accordingly.” The scientists searched in a huge trove of existing scientific documents for examples of autocatalysis, and found 270 different cycles of the reactions. Most of the 270 examples did not feature organic compounds, but rather elements which are rare in life forms such as mercury, or the radioactive metal thorium. “It was thought that these sorts of reactions are very rare,” Kaçar said in a statement. “We are showing that it's actually far from rare. You just need to look in the right place.” Now, it means scientists can test these cycles to get a better understanding of how autocatalysis can work. “The cycles presented here are an array of basic recipes that can be mixed and matched in ways that haven't been tried before on our planet,” said study author Zhen Peng, also an evolutionary biologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “They might lead to the discovery of completely new examples of complex chemistry that work in conditions where carbon- or even silicon-based cycles are too either combusted or frozen out.” The scientists published their findings in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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Famous Kody, an internet personality and TikTok star, has died at the age of 21. The influencer also went by the name Mr Blicky on social media. He died following injuries sustained in a car crash in July. Last month, TikTok user JuiciNicole revealed that Famous Kody – real name Zyquan Mitchell – was in a medically induced coma. “He is fighting but he is stable,” Nicole wrote at the time. “We’re asking for prayers from everyone and positive vibes only, guys.” The influencer’s sister Zy'Kevia posted a statement confirming the news and paying a moving tribute to him. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “Life will never be the same. Your smile was always priceless and could brighten up the whole room. Zyquan how could you leave me, we were just getting started. Lord, I truly don’t understand. My baby brother (big brother) as you will say. Zyquan I’m gonna miss you. Lord why.” @_xykevia Life will never be the same ? your smile was always priceless, could brighten up the whole room . ? Zyquan how could you leave me , we was just getting started. Lord i truly don’t understand. ? My baby brother (big brother) as you will say . Zyquan I’m going miss you . Lord why ?? @Mr.Blicky??♂️? #mrblicky??♂️ #fyp His friend JuiciNicole also wrote: “With pain in my heart and tears in my eyes just know @Mr.Blicky i love u!. And I appreciate u and the friend u was to me! Plz help ease this pain tho I am broken!” Famous Kody was known for sharing videos of himself lip-syncing to songs and also called himself a “Brand Ambassador” in his social media profiles. The Atlanta local had 693.2K followers on Tikok and 102k followers on Instagram. Earlier this year, he shared pictures of himself with his daughter Kahlani Dior Mitchell who was born in 2023. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Since its launch in January 2022, KSI and Logan Paul's Prime Hydration has taken over shelves, social feeds and resale sites. Marketed at £2 a bottle in supermarkets across the UK with some strict 'one per customer' rules, the viral energy drink has since landed in local off-licences and sites such as eBay at a much higher price point. The drink even prompted one diehard fan to create an app dedicated to helping others monitor stock levels after witnessing teens and parents queueing up in the early hours to get their hands on a bottle. In a recent YouTube video, KSI reacted to the inflated Prime prices, with one eBay listing at a staggering £500 ($631). A separate listing saw a single bottle of Prime Lemonade for £148 ($186) with 22 bidders. "That’s why there’s a huge rush to get them… people are making stupid profit," he said. "There’s probably people that actually want to try the drink, but then there are also people that are like, 'yeah, I can make a s*** ton of money.'" Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter People Are Reselling Prime for THIS MUCH?? www.youtube.com This isn't the first time the YouTuber addressed Prime's inflated resale prices. Earlier this year, KSI took to Twitter, telling followers, "It's literally impossible to combat." "We’re sending loads to retailers," he responded to one fan. "However I fear that not all of the bottles will end up on the shelves due to foul play and opportunists. And I hate to say it but it’s literally impossible to combat that I’m afraid." In a separate TikTok video, KSI urged fans to stop paying the ridiculous resale prices. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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