FRAGMENT FROM NATURE features an article entitled Remnants of an Ancient Metabolism without Phosphate, by Joshua E.Goldford et al. This is a brilliant analysis using computer modeling of metabolic pathways; even forty five years ago, when I was a graduate student, such tools were essentially unknown in biochemistry. Just like in many aspects of astronomy, probing the evolution of metabolism largely relies on sophisticated theoretical modeling.
https://lnkd.in/dcwZe7b