Research

Welcome!

      "How did life emerge?" is a central question to humanity. A key aspect of answering this question is determining how phosphorus became incorporated into biological systems. Phosphorus is the only element abundant in life that must have had a mineral source. The limited availability and reactivity of phosphorus bearing minerals on the early Earth makes it challenging to understand how this could have happened.

    The Abbott-Lyon laboratory (ALL) uses surface-sensitive experimental methods to investigate the reactivity of phosphorus-bearing minerals and salts such as schreibersite, metal phosphites, and hydroxyapatite. Our approach allows us to monitor structure-reactivity relationships, reaction pathways, and the energetics of phosphorus activation in minerals. Using physical chemistry, we are aiming to help answer the so-called phosphate problem in origin-of-life research.

     Research in the ALL is performed by undergraduate students and master’s students.

Want to learn more?

How do we study chemical reactions on solid surfaces in the ALL?

What is the role of phosphorus-containing minerals in the origin of life?

Who is in the Abbott-Lyon Laboratory, and how can I become part of the team?

Check out our publications!

Thank you!

The Abbott-Lyon Laboratory gratefully acknowledges support from the following organizations.