Anyons-particles carrying fractional statistics that interpolate between bosons and fermions-have been conjectured to exist in low-dimensional systems. In the context of the fractional quantum Hall effect, quasi-particles made of electrons take the role of anyons whose statistical exchange phase is fixed by the filling factor. Here we propose an experimental setup to create anyons in one-dimensional lattices with fully tuneable exchange statistics. In our setup, anyons are created by bosons with occupation-dependent hopping amplitudes, which can be realized by assisted Raman tunnelling. The statistical angle can thus be controlled in situ by modifying the relative phase of external driving fields. This opens the fascinating possibility of smoothly transmuting bosons via anyons into fermions and of inducing a phase transition by the mere control of the particle statistics as a free parameter. In particular, we demonstrate how to induce a quantum phase transition from a superfluid into an exotic mott-like state where the particle distribution exhibits plateaus at fractional densities.

The replication of nucleic acids is central to the origin of life. On the early Earth, suitable non-equilibrium boundary conditions would have been required to surmount the effects of thermodynamic equilibrium such as the dilution and degradation of oligonucleotides. One particularly intractable experimental finding is that short genetic polymers replicate faster and outcompete longer ones, which leads to ever shorter sequences and the loss of genetic information. Here we show that a heat flux across an open pore in submerged rock concentrates replicating oligonucleotides from a constant feeding flow and selects for longer strands. Our experiments utilize the interplay of molecular thermophoresis and laminar convection, the latter driving strand separation and exponential replication. Strands of 75 nucleotides survive whereas strands half as long die out, which inverts the above dilemma of the survival of the shortest. The combined feeding, thermal cycling and positive length selection opens the door for a stable molecular evolution in the long-term microhabitat of heated porous rock.

Biomolecule interactions are central to pharmacology and diagnostics. These interactions can be quantified by thermophoresis, the directed molecule movement along a temperature gradient. It is sensitive to binding induced changes in size, charge, or conformation. Established capillary measurements require at least 0.5 μL per sample. We cut down sample consumption by a factor of 50, using 10 nL droplets produced with acoustic droplet robotics (Labcyte). Droplets were stabilized in an oil-surfactant mix and locally heated with an IR laser. Temperature increase, Marangoni flow, and concentration distribution were analyzed by fluorescence microscopy and numerical simulation. In 10 nL droplets, we quantified AMP-aptamer affinity, cooperativity, and buffer dependence. Miniaturization and the 1536-well plate format make the method high-throughput and automation friendly. This promotes innovative applications for diagnostic assays in human serum or label-free drug discovery screening.

How can living matter arise from dead matter? All known living systems are built around information stored in RNA and DNA. To protect this information against molecular degradation and diffusion, the second law of thermodynamics imposes the need for a non-equilibrium driving force. Following a series of successful experiments using thermal gradients, we have shown that heat gradients across sub-millimetre pores can drive accumulation, replication, and selection of ever longer molecules, implementing all the necessary parts for Darwinian evolution. For these lab experiments to proceed with ample speed, however, the temperature gradients have to be quite steep, reaching up to 30 K per 100 μm. Here we use computer simulations based on experimental data to show that 2000-fold shallower temperature gradients - down to 100 K over one metre - can still drive the accumulation of protobiomolecules. This finding opens the door for various environments to potentially host the origins of life: volcanic, water-vapour, or hydrothermal settings. Following the trajectories of single molecules in simulation, we also find that they are subjected to frequent temperature oscillations inside these pores, facilitating e.g. template-directed replication mechanisms. The tilting of the pore configuration is the central strategy to achieve replication in a shallow temperature gradient. Our results suggest that shallow thermal gradients across porous rocks could have facilitated the formation of evolutionary machines, significantly increasing the number of potential sites for the origin of life on young rocky planets.