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Macromolecular information transfer can be defined as the process by which a coded monomer sequence is communicated from one macromolecule to another. In such a transfer process, the information sequence can be kept identical, transformed into a complementary sequence or even translated into a different molecular language. Such mechanisms are crucial in biology and take place in DNA→DNA replication, DNA→RNA transcription and RNA→protein translation. In fact, there would be no life on Earth without macromolecular information transfer. Mimicking such processes with synthetic macromolecules would also be of major scientific relevance because it would open up new avenues for technological applications (e.g. data storage and processing) but also for the creation of artificial life. In this important context, this minireview summarizes recent research about information transfer in synthetic oligomers and polymers. Medium- and long-term perspectives are also discussed., (© 2023 The Authors. Angewandte Chemie International Edition published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

One of life's most striking characteristics is its mental dimension, one whose very existence within a material system has long been a deep scientific mystery. Given the current scientific view that life emerged from non-life, how was it possible for 'dead' matter to have taken on mental capabilities? In this Perspective we describe the existence of a recently discovered non-equilibrium state of matter, an energized dynamic kinetic state, and demonstrate how particular chemical systems once activated into that kinetic state could manifest rudimentary cognitive behavior. Thus, contrary to a common view that biology is not reducible to physics and chemistry, recent findings in both chemistry and biology suggest that life's mental state is an outcome of its physical state, and therefore may be explicable in physical/chemical terms. Such understanding offers added insight into the physico-chemical process by which life was able to emerge from non-life and the perennial 'what is life?' question. Most remarkably, it appears that Darwin, through his deep understanding of the evolutionary process, already sensed the existence of a connection between life's physical and mental states.

Here we show how a simple inorganic salt can spontaneously form autocatalytic sets of replicating inorganic molecules that work via molecular recognition based on the {PMo 12 } ≡ [PMo 12 O 40 ] 3- Keggin ion, and {Mo 36 } ≡ [H 3 Mo 57 M 6 (NO) 6 O 183 (H 2 O) 18 ] 22- cluster. These small clusters are able to catalyze their own formation via an autocatalytic network, which subsequently template the assembly of gigantic molybdenum-blue wheel {Mo 154 } ≡ [Mo 154 O 462 H 14 (H 2 O) 70 ] 14- , {Mo 132 } ≡ [Mo VI 72 Mo V 60 O 372 (CH 3 COO) 30 (H 2 O) 72 ] 42- ball-shaped species containing 154 and 132 molybdenum atoms, and a {PMo 12 }⊂{Mo 124 Ce 4 } ≡ [H 16 Mo VI 100 Mo V 24 Ce 4 O 376 (H 2 O) 56 (PMo VI 10 Mo V 2 O 40 )(C 6 H 12 N 2 O 4 S 2 ) 4 ] 5- nanostructure. Kinetic investigations revealed key traits of autocatalytic systems including molecular recognition and kinetic saturation. A stochastic model confirms the presence of an autocatalytic network involving molecular recognition and assembly processes, where the larger clusters are the only products stabilized by the cycle, isolated due to a critical transition in the network., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest., (Copyright © 2020 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)