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Lawless, J. G.

Publications and source records attributed to Lawless, J. G..

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

Biogeochemical cycling in terrestrial ecosystems - Modeling, measurement, and remote sensing

The use of modeling, remote sensing, and measurements to characterize the pathways and to measure the rate of biogeochemical cycling in forest ecosystems is described. The application of the process-level model to predict processes in intact forests and ecosystems response to disturbance is examined. The selection of research areas from contrasting climate regimes and sites having a fertility gradient in that regime is discussed, and the sites studied are listed. The use of remote sensing in determining leaf area index and canopy biochemistry is analyzed. Nitrous oxide emission is investigated by using a gas measurement instrument. Future research projects, which include studying the influence of changes on nutrient cycling in ecosystems and the effect of pollutants on the ecosystems, are discussed.

Peterson, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Search for the Universal Ancestors

By its nature, the study of the origins of life is multidisciplinary, requiring contributions from astronomers, biologists, chemists, geologists, physicists, and many others. Partial answers are provided to many questions about organic chemical evolution and the origin of life. It is observed that the gaps in our knowledge concerning the steps from the nonliving to the living are numerous. Among these gaps are: (1) a solar system formation with its accumulation of raw materials; (2) the synthesis of the life forming monomers, such as the amino acids, nucleotides, and lipids; (3) the condensation of these monomers into useful polymers, such as proteins and nucleic acids; (4) the sequestering of these materials into droplets of proteinoid or membrane-like structures; and (5) the development of a chemical memory (the genetic code) to pass on to the progeny the information acquired.

Hartman, H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

pH profile of the adsorption of nucleotides onto montmorillonite. I - Selected homoionic clays

The effect of pH and adsorbed ions on the adsorption of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides on montmorillonite clay was studied experimentally. The specific nucleotides examined were: 5 prime-AMP; 3-prime AMP; and 5 prime-CMP. The pH of the clay samples was adjusted to various levels in the 2-12 pH range using microliter volumes of concentrated acid (1N HCl) and base (1NHNaOH). It was found that preferential adsorption among nulceotides was dependent on the pH level and on the characteristics of the substituted metal cation and anion exchange mechanisms. Below pH 4, adsorption was attributed to cation and anion exchange mechanisms. Above pH 4, however, adsorption was attributed to the complexation mechanisms occurring between the metal cations in the clay exchange site and in the biomolecule. The possible role of homoionic clays in the concentration mechanisms of biomonomers in the prebiotic environment is discussed.

Lawless, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1985

pH profile of the adsorption of nucleotides onto montmorillonite. II - Adsorption and desorption of 5-prime-AMP in iron-calcium montmorillonite systems

The interaction of 5-prime-AMP with montmorillonite saturated with various ratios of two metals found ubiquitously on the surface of earth, that is, iron and calcium, is investigated. Adsorption and desorption of the nucleotide were studied in the pH range of 2-12 at three levels of addition: 0.080, 0.268 and 0.803 mmole 5-prime-AMP per gram of clay. Two desorption stages were employed - H2O wash and NaOH extraction (pH = 12.0). 5-prime-AMP was preferentially adsorbed on the Fe-containing clays relative to the Ca clay. The nucleotide was fully recovered by the two desorption stages, mostly by the NaOH extraction. The evidence at hand indicates that 5-prime-AMP reaction with clay is affected by electrostatic interactions involving both attraction and repulsion forces. Some specific adsorption, possibly the result of covalent bonding and complex formation with the adsorbed ion, cannot be ruled out for iron but does not appear to operate for calcium. Changes in pH cause varying degrees of attaction and repulsion of 5-prime-AMP and may have been operating on the primitive earth, leading to sequences of adsorption and release of this biomolecule.

Banin, A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Role of chemotaxis in the ecology of denitrifiers

It has been recognized that the process of denitrification represents a major sequence in the nitrogen cycle. It involves the anaerobic reduction of nitrate or nitrite to nitrous oxide or elemental nitrogen. This process is responsible for significant losses of nitrogen from agricultural soils. Up to now, little attention has been paid to the ecology of the organisms responsible for denitrification. It is pointed out that chemotaxis would probably offer a strong competitive mechanism for denitrifiers, since chemotaxis would allow denitrifiers to actively reach nitrate by directed motility, rather than by random movement or diffusion of nitrate. The present investigation was initiated to examine the chemotactic responses of several denitrifiers to nitrate and nitrite. Attention is given to bacterial strains, culture media and cell preparation, chemotaxis assays, and competition experiments. It was found that several denitrifiers, including P. aeruginosa, P. fluorescens, and P. Stutzeri, were strongly attracted to NO3(-) and NO2(-).

Kennedy, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Characterization of dehydration-induced luminescence of kaolinite

The dehydration-induced luminescence of a colloidal kaolinite is investigated experimentally, with particular attention given to the effect of various treatments on the luminescence characteristics. It is found that the total photon count of the emitted light is linearly related to the film thickness up to a thickness of 30 microns; mechanical stress in the form of grinding increases the photon output and produces extensive changes in the emission kinetics. A direct check of the emission wavelength dependence (by using color filters) indicates that roughly 75 percent of the emission occurs in the wavelength range below 410 nm. It is also found that incorporation of fluorescent molecules into the kaolinite paste increases the photon output and may indicate the transfer of ultraviolet photons to the fluorescent probe.

Lahav, N.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Terrestrial nitrous oxide cycles and atmospheric effects

The basic processes that cause N2O emission from soils are briefly discussed, and the rate of the processes is shown to vary widely in space and time, depending on soil, climate, and agrotechnical conditions. Although significant amounts of N2O are indeed emitted from the land, the complexity of the soil processes involved and the wide variation of measured rates still prevents the quantitative evaluation, global budgeting, and reliable prediction of atmospheric N2O. Increased atmospheric N2O abundance increases the levels of odd-nitrogen in the stratosphere, which, in turn, decreases the stratospheric ozone density via a catalytic cycle. Using appropriate atmospheric models and current chemical kinetic data, it has been found that the dependence of ozone reduction on N2O increase is nearly linear; a simulated doubling of N2O leads to a predicted decrease of about 14 percent in total ozone column density. A 10 percent increase in N2O yields a predicted increase in nonmelanoma skin cancer of several percent, and a possible raising of surface temperature of 0.03 K.

Whitten, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Global N2O cycles - Terrestrial emissions, atmospheric accumulation and biospheric effects

Recent findings concerning the budget and cycles of nitrous oxide on earth are summarized, and the sources and sinks for N2O on land, in the ocean, and in the atmosphere are examined in view of the N2O concentration increase of 0.2-0.4 percent per year, observed over the period of 1975-1982. Possible atmospheric and biospheric consequences of the N2O concentration increase are evaluated. N2O emission values are given for several major ecosystem types, such as forest, desert, cultivated land; values from different sources are compared and discussed. Analysis shows an excess of documented sources over sinks by 0-51 Tg N2O-N/yr.

Banin, A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Global biology - An interdisciplinary scientific research program at NASA, Ames Research Center

NASA has initiated new effort in Global Biology, the primary focus of which is to understand biogeochemical cycles. As part of this effort, an interdisciplinary team of scientists has formed at Ames Research Center to investigate the cycling of sulfur in the marine coastal zone and to study the cycling of nitrogen in terrestrial ecosystems. Both studies will use remotely sensed data, coupled with ground-based research, to identify and measure the transfer of major and minor biologically produced gases between these ecosystems and global reservoirs.

Lawless, J. G.↗
NASA NTRS1983

On the reported optical activity of amino acids in the Murchison meteorite

It is shown that the explanation of terrestrial contamination of the Murchison meteorite is consistent with the analysis of extracts from the meteorite reported by Engel and Nagy (EN) (1982) and is much more probable than their suggestion that the excess of L-enantiomers for several protein amino acids is due to asymmetric synthesis or decomposition. The low abundance of serine and threonine reported by EN may be due to their decomposition during the derivatization procedure, and the absence of methionine, tyrosine, and phenylalanine can be attributed to various causes. The amount of contamination in EN's extracts are estimated from a mass balance of the amino acid enantiomers, and it is found that the amino acids in the HCl could be due entirely to contamination while in the water extract the amount of contamination ranges from about 40 to 97 percent, depending on the amino acid. The argument that contaminants were preferentially extracted by EN's procedure cannot account for the failure to detect methionine, tyrosine, and phenylalanine.

Bada, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Interaction between ATP, metal ions, glycine, and several minerals

Interactions between ATP, glycine and montmorillonite and kaolinite clay minerals in the presence of various metal cations are investigated. The adsorption of adenine nucleotides on clays and Al(OH)3 was measured as a function of pH, and glycine condensation was followed in the presence of ATP, ZnCl2, MgCl2 and either kaolinite or montmorillonite. The amounts of ATP and ADP adsorbed are found to decrease with increasing Ph, and to be considerably enhanced in experiments with Mg(2+)- and Zn(2+)-montmorillonite with respect to Na(+)-montmorillonite. The effects of divalent cations are less marked in kaolinite. Results for Al(OH)3 show the importance of adsorption at clay platelet edges at high pH. The decomposition of ATP during drying at high temperature is observed to be inhibited by small amounts of clay, vacuum, or Mg(2+) or Zn(2+) ions, and to be accompanied by peptide formation in the presence of glycine. Results suggest the importance of Zn(2+) and Mg(2+) in chemical evolution.

Rishpon, J.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Binding of nickel /II/ to 5-prime-nucleoside monophosphates and related compounds

The interactions of Ni(II) cation with a representative suite of purine bases and the respective nucleosides and nucleotides have been studied by ultraviolet difference spectroscopy. Apparent association constants were determined for each system at pH 7.0, using computer linear regression coupled with an iteration technique. The specificity of binding of Ni(2+) for the purine nucleotides studied at pH 7.0 was 5-prime-GMP greater than 5-prime-AMP; a similar ordering was also found for the respective nucleosides and bases. In this study binding was not observed for the suite of pyramidines used, although an Ni(2+) -cytidine complex has been observed (Fiskin and Beer, 1965). It was also found that Ni(2+) bound more strongly to the purine 5-prime-nucleotides than to the respective nucleosides and bases. These trends are explained in terms of metal-ligand bonds and available bonding positions on the ligands. A role for metal-ion-nucleotide types of complexes is suggested in the processes that might have given rise to the origin of life.

Orenberg, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Prolonged triboluminescence in clays and other minerals

Samples of various clays and minerals were ground or fractured and monitored with a liquid scintillation spectrometer in order to obtain triboluminescent decay curves. Kaolinite samples displayed several million counts/min after grinding, with a surface area emission estimated at tens of billions of photons/sq cm of surface. The photon production rates varied with the origin of the sample, and kaolinite continually yielded higher production rates than bentonite. The addition of water to the samples slightly increased the count rate of emitted light, while the addition of the fluorescent molecule substance tryptofan significantly enhanced the count rate. Freezing smears of kaolinite and montmorillonite in liquid nitrogen and in a salt ice mixture also induced triboluminescence in the montmorillonite. A possible connection between powdery triboluminescent materials formed in mining industries and respiratory disorders among miners is suggested.

Lahav, N.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Prolonged triboluminescence in clays and other minerals

The decay curves of various triboluminescent-excited materials were obtained, including well-crystallized and poorly crystallized kaolin, bentonite, quartz, sodium chloride, and chalk calcite. A qualitative increase in triboluminescence was observed for kaolin dipped in water or tryptophan solution compared to dry kaolin, and for frozen kaolin and montmorillonite pastes. Theoretical explanations for the tryptophan effect are discussed.

Lahav, N.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Dehydration-induced luminescence in clay minerals

Reports of triboluminescent phenomena in organic crystalline materials prompted a search for related processes in clay minerals. The reported extensive mechanical distortion produced on freezing and drying of montmorillonite was particularly interesting because of studies of condensation reactions in a wet/dry cycled reaction sequence. The discovery of an unusual luminescent process in several clay minerals is reported and its characteristics are described.

Coyne, L. M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Quantification of monocarboxylic acids from a spark discharge synthesis

A suite of sixteen monocarboxylic acids having carbon numbers 2 to 7, formed by the Miller-Urey spark discharge process, was identified and quantified by gas chromatography and mass fragmentography using a deuterium spiking technique. The molar concentration and isomeric distribution of these laboratory synthesized monocarboxylic acids are compared to those previously reported for the Murchison meteorite. They show similar trends, namely, decreasing molar concentration with increasing molecular weight, and a ratio of normal/branched isomers tending toward smaller values with increasing carbon numbers.

Yuen, G. U.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Organic compounds in meteorites

Recent studies of carbonaceous chondrites provide evidence that certain organic compounds are indigenous and the result of an abiotic, chemical synthesis. The results of several investigators have established the presence of amino acids and precursors, mono- and dicarboxylic acids, N-heterocycles, and hydrocarbons as well as other compounds. For example, studies of the Murchison and Murray meteorites have revealed the presence of at least 40 amino acids with nearly equal abundances of D and L isomers. The population consists of both protein and nonprotein amino acids including a wide variety of linear, cyclic, and polyfunctional types. Results show a trend of decreasing concentration with increasing carbon number, with the most abundant being glycine (41 n Moles/g). These and other results to be reviewed provide persuasive support for the theory of chemical evolution and provide the only natural evidence for the protobiological subset of molecules from which life on earth may have arisen.

Lawless, J. G.↗