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Joseph Moran

@moranlabchem.bsky.social
1.6K followers 2K following 74 posts

Organic chemist interested in the origins of life. Moranlab.com 🇨🇦 CRC1 and Prof @uottawa.ca 🇫🇷 part-time @unistra.fr

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Reposted by Joseph Moran
Philip Ball @philipcball.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
It feels very good to have been the editor who handled Soai's 1995 paper in Nature on autocatalytic amplification of an enantiomeric excess - now known as the Soai reaction. This seemed a curiosity at the time, but we clearly made the right call.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
In honour of today’s Nobel Prize to Kagan and Soai, here’s a 2022 perspective on the debated mechanism of the Soai reaction from former group member @yannickgeiger.bsky.social pubs.rsc.org/cs/article/5...
pubs.rsc.org
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Thanks so much!
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
@stephy.bsky.social Please add me to ChemFolk. Thanks!
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
One of my favorite science writers has covered our recent paper, in collaboration with the group of Bill Martin.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Two origins of life? www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Intermediate stages in the origin of metabolism at a phosphorylating hydrothermal vent
Enzymatic metabolism emerged from metal-catalyzed, aqueous reactions of H2, CO2, NH3 and phosphite at a hydrothermal vent.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Congrats to recent PhD graduate Maciej Piejko for winning the thesis prize from the Fondation Jean-Marie Lehn! Your future is bright! fondation-lehn.fr/prix-de-thes...
fondation-lehn.fr
Prix de thèse 2026 : la Fondation Jean-Marie Lehn récompense deux travaux interdisciplinaires en chimie-santé et science quantique
La Fondation Jean-Marie Lehn a une nouvelle fois salué l'excellence scientifique en remettant son prix de thèse à deux jeunes chercheurs prometteurs de l'U
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
A nice News highlight in @science.org on the work of my collaborator Bill Martin (we pitched in on one of the pre-prints). www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Metal-driven chemical reaction in deep sea may explain origin of life
Group offers new scenario for how cells came to rely on phosphate molecules to build DNA and store energy
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Three back-to-back-to-back conference is probably too much of a good thing, but thoroughly enjoyed the Reaction Mechanisms Conference in Holland, MI, the GRC Metallocofactors in Portland, ME , and the French-American Chemical Symposium in Ottawa (photo from FACS below).
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
www.quantamagazine.org/the-dirt-tha...
quantamagazine.org
The Dirt That Refused To Die | Quanta Magazine
Lifelike biochemistry continued to unfold in sterilized soil for six years, pointing to a metabolic theory for how biology began.
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Enzymes use strong electric fields to catalyze metabolism. Could abiotic electric fields have kickstarted a proto-metabolism before enzymes? @noeminogal.bsky.social's paper in @jacs.acspublications.org hints that, at least for pyridoxal biosynthesis, the answer might be yes. doi.org/10.1021/jacs...
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Merci, Yann!
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 22/05/2026
Enzymes use strong electric fields to catalyze metabolism. Could abiotic electric fields have kickstarted a proto-metabolism before enzymes? @noeminogal.bsky.social's paper in @jacs.acspublications.org hints that, at least for pyridoxal biosynthesis, the answer might be yes. doi.org/10.1021/jacs...
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Thanks for sending Jon our way, John. We’ll take good care of him!
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
So awesome!
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Had a great visit at McGill Chemistry in my home town of Montréal. Thanks to Thomas Preston for hosting, Janine Mauzeroll for the invitation, and everyone else for their time.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Yes, indeed! First time in Hawaii and at this conference.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
The jet lag helped the family get up early on Tuesday and we made it to the top of Diamond Head just after sunrise.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Enjoying science and (occasional) sun at @pacifichem.bsky.social Thanks to Yoshiyuki Kageyama and Neal Devaraj for organizing the session on "Frontiers in Dynamic Supramolecular Chemistry: Towards Practical Functions".
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
Dave Leitch and the Leitch Lab @leitchlab.bsky.social · 15/11/2025
We are on a roll with hiring here at @uvic.ca Chemistry! Experimental chemistry research programs of all types are in scope. See Saurabh's note below for details/advertisement link! (and don't let his self deprecation fool you - he's already made faculty meetings 20% more inspiring! 🙃)
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
Great news for astrobiology in Ontario and Canada! www.cbc.ca/news/science...
cbc.ca
Quest to find another Earth brings renowned researcher home to Toronto | CBC News
Canadian astronomical research is getting a big boost with the return of Sara Seager to Canada after around 20 years at MIT. Her research includes looking for life in the clouds of Venus and searching...
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
Congrats, Job!
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
They say grad students start to resemble their chemicals. Very creative, Jack! Happy Halloween!
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Yes! I have been advocating for this viewpoint for years.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
10 days left to apply. A view from my 13 min bike commute downtown - not always possible in North America!
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Past and present collide as @rjmayer.bsky.social and @yannickgeiger.bsky.social, now both leading groups of their own, meet @noeminogal.bsky.social at @esor2025.bsky.social in beautiful Padova.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
A great start to @esor2025.bsky.social in beauitiful Padova today. An introduction by our conference chair @leonardprins.bsky.social
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
Yes, unfortunately not for me either, as much as I'd like it to be. Chem Twitter/X 2017-2023 was wild. Almost no engagement now on either platform.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
@uottawa.ca is hiring a Full Professor and Tier 1 CRC in Sustainable Catalyst Design. Ability to teach inorganic and organometallic chemistry especially welcome. Comes with dedicated funding, teaching reduction, and substantial startup funds. Ottawa is a great place to live! tinyurl.com/bdcm5hw6
tinyurl.com
Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Catalyst Design - Ottawa, Ontario (CA) job with University of Ottawa, Ontario CANADA | 12844053
The University of Ottawa invites applications for a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Sustainable Catalyst Design. The successful candidate wil...
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
www.quantamagazine.org/at-17-hannah...
quantamagazine.org
At 17, Hannah Cairo Solved a Major Math Mystery | Quanta Magazine
After finding the homeschooling life confining, the teen petitioned her way into a graduate class at Berkeley, where she ended up disproving a 40-year-old conjecture.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
This was a great kick-off and I wish the team much luck moving forward!
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
Groupe thématique chimie des origines @gt-chimie-origines.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
Et pour terminer la journée, Joseph Moran nous parle de l'origine du métabolisme. @gregoiredanger.bsky.social @pauline-poinot.bsky.social @ytrolez.bsky.social @moranlabchem.bsky.social
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
John Hayward 🏳️‍🌈 @johnjhayward.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
In the Interdisciplinarity in Organic Chemistry symposium at #CSC2025. Started out with @moranlabchem.bsky.social telling us about the metabolic origins of life, and now hearing from Eda Kilic from @theprattgroup.bsky.social about organelle targeting dyes. Organic chemistry is so cool 🥰
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
Scott McIndoe @mcindoe.bsky.social · 15/06/2025
What better to do on the morning of #CSC2025 than explore some Ottawa trails with @leitchlab.bsky.social, @nelsonyslam.bsky.social and @hoflab.bsky.social ?
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
Knowable Magazine @knowablemag.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
At the dawn of life, did metabolism come first? Some scientists propose that in the beginning, geochemistry gave way to biochemistry — with no genetic material necessary. Only later did RNA and DNA appear.
knowablemagazine.org
At the dawn of life, did metabolism come first?
Some scientists propose that in the beginning, geochemistry gave way to biochemistry — with no genetic material necessary. Only later did RNA and DNA appear.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
Was a JSP Fellow more than a decade ago and it was so critical to integration of this Canadian (who barely knew anyone on the continent) into the European scene. Thank you, @swisschemistry.bsky.social
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 08/05/2025
It feels strange to be in Switzerland in April/May for something other than the #Burgenstock meeting, but it was a pleasure to be the external speaker at the last retreat of the NCCR Molecular Systems Engineering in Grindelwald.
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 04/05/2025
I think a lot about what Carl Sagan said in one of his final interviews.
"WE'VE ARRANGED A society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. And this combustible mixture of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces. Who is running the science and technology in a democracy if the people don't know anything about it?"
"Science is more than a body of knowledge, it's a way of thinking. A way of skeptically interrogating the universe with a fine understanding of human fallibility. If we are not able to ask skeptical questions, to interrogate those who tell us that something is true, to be skeptical of those in authority, then we're up for grabs for the next charlatan, political or religious, who comes ambling along."
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · 29/04/2025
I check the little screen, I check the big screen, I check the watch screen, I check the tablet screen. I check the screen that reminds me of the good times, I check the screen that reminds me of the better times.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Things are moving fast on this topic. Zare's team observes "microlightning" between charged droplets using a high-speed camera. The charges build up during the spraying process itself. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org
Spraying of water microdroplets forms luminescence and causes chemical reactions in surrounding gas
Spraying water microdroplets causes an electrical discharge between oppositely charged droplets that enables chemical reactions.
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
Tobias Schnitzer – Group Leader @ Uni Freiburg @schnitzerlab.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
🎉 Big day for our group: our first publication is out! Tom did a fantastic job highlighting current trends & opportunities in peptide catalysis — now published in Chem Catalysis (open access). Huge congrats, Tom! www.cell.com/chem-catalys...
cell.com
Peptide catalysis: Trends and opportunities
Peptides are highly selective organocatalysts, with intrinsic modularity allowing precise control over structure and function. Advances in peptide synthesis, biotechnology, and cheminformatics will en...
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
Knowable Magazine @knowablemag.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Some scientists propose that in the beginning, geochemistry gave way to biochemistry — with no genetic material necessary. Only later did RNA and DNA appear. ✍️ Viviane Callier
knowablemagazine.org
At the dawn of life, did metabolism come first?
Some scientists propose that in the beginning, geochemistry gave way to biochemistry — with no genetic material necessary. Only later did RNA and DNA appear.
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
uOttawa Science @uottawascience.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
From cutting-edge materials to the origins of life, plus how climate change affects everything—from mountain peaks to your plate—learn about the discoveries that are shaping our future. Don’t miss our New Professor Lecture! 🌍🔬 ✨ www.uottawa.ca/faculty-scie...
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
Thank you for the kind highlight of our work. There is so much more to come.
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
Daumann Lab @daumannl.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
Influence of Rare-Earth-Elements on Prebiotic Reaction Networks Resembling the Biologically Relevant Krebs Cycle | ChemRxiv - doi.org/10.26434/che... by @joguti.bsky.social is our groups first contribution to the OoL field! We would love some feedback #chemsky 🤓🧪
Reaction network arising from the La3+-catalyzed reaction of glyoxylate and pyruvate, including non-detected intermediates with the most probable routes represented by arrows requiring either one or both of the reactants are shown. Some can be deteced by GC-MS others only by NMR, some by both.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
This is a big nothingburger. It’s all about context. His PhD advisor is right. He cites the work in question 20 times and mentions it extensively. Obviously no intent to take credit for those ideas. Probably should have used quotation marks in some places. That’s about it. Who wrote this article?
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
I join researchers from Coast to Coast to Coast to demonstrate and exercise my voting power. In #Elxn45, I will vote for the Member of Parliament who recognises the importance of research to Canada’s success and prioritizes excellence in research. #ResearchersVote #VotonsRecherche #CdnPoli
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
NC State and UNC Chapel Hill.
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Joseph Moran @moranlabchem.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Looking forward to visiting in a few weeks!
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Reposted by Joseph Moran
Ulrich Hintermair @hintermairlab.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
academic.oup.com/brain/articl...
academic.oup.com
On the responsibilities of intellectuals and the rise of bullshit jobs in universities
You may never have considered yourself to be one. Why would you? But if you’re reading this, there is more than a likelihood that you are one. If you’re a
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