Journal Publications

(updated Feb 3, 2026)

2025

Madan, I., & Pearce, B. K. D. (2025) Prebiotic Chemistry Insights for Dragonfly: Thermodynamics of Amino Acid Synthesis in Selk Crater on Titan. Planet. Sci. J. 6, 284.

OoLEN, Asche, S., Bautista, C., …, Pearce, B. K. D., et al. (2025) What it takes to solve the Origin(s) of Life: An integrated review of techniques. Cell Rep Phys Sci, accepted.

Paschek, K., Henning, T. K., Molaverdikhani, K., Miyazaki, Y., Pearce, B. K. D., Pudritz, R. E., & Semenov, D. A. (2025) Deep Mantle–Atmosphere Coupling and Carbonaceous Bombardment: Options for Biomolecule Formation on an Oxidized Early Earth. Astrophys. J. 985, 50.

2024

MacKenzie, S., Pontefract, A., Daly, R. T., …, Pearce, B. K. D., Stickle. A., M., & Vance, S. D. (2024) Impacts on Ocean Worlds Are Sufficiently Frequent and Energetic to Be of Astrobiological Importance. Planet. Sci. J. 5, 176.

Stolar, T., Pearce, B. K. D., Etter, M.,Truong, K.-N., Krajnc, A., et al. (2024) Prebiotic base-pairing of uracil and 2,6-diaminopurine. iScience. 27, 109894

Pearce, B. K. D., Hörst, S. M., Cline, C. J., Cintala, M. J., He, C., Sebree, J. A., MacKenzie, S. M., Daly, R. T., Pontefract, A. J., & Pesciotta, C. (2024) Towards Prebiotic Chemistry on Titan: Impact experiments on organic haze particles. Planet. Sci. J., 5, 68.

Pearce, B. K. D., Hörst, S. M., Sebree, J. A., & He, Chao (2024) Organic Hazes as a Source of Life's Building Blocks to Warm Little Ponds on the Hadean Earth. Planet. Sci. J., 5, 23.

2015—2023

Pearce, B. K. D., He, Chao, & Hörst, S. M. (2022) An experimental and theoretical investigation of HCN production in the Hadean Earth atmosphere. ACS Earth Space Chem. 6, 2385–2399. PDF

Paschek, K., Semenov, D. A., Pearce, B. K. D., Lange, K., Henning, Th., & Pudritz, R. E. (2022) Meteorites and the RNA World: Synthesis of Nucleobases in Carbonaceous Planetesimals and the Role of Initial Volatile Content. Astrophys J, 942, 50

Pearce, B. K. D., Molaverdikhani, K., Pudritz, R. E., Henning, Th., & Cerrillo, K. E. (2022) Toward RNA life on Early Earth: From atmospheric HCN to biomolecule production in warm little ponds. Astrophys. J., 932, 1. PDF

Paschek, K., Kohler, K., Pearce, B. K. D., Lange, K., Henning, Th., Trapp, O., Pudritz, R. E., & Semenov, D. A. (2022) Possible Ribose Synthesis in Carbonaceous Planetesimals. Life, 12, 404.

Pearce, B. K. D., Ayers, P. W., & Pudritz, R. E. (2020) CRAHCN-O: A Consistent Reduced Atmospheric Hybrid Chemical Network Oxygen Extension for Hydrogen Cyanide and Formaldehyde Chemistry in CO2-, N2-, H2O-,CH4-, and H2-Dominated Atmospheres. J Phys Chem A, 124, 8594–8606. PDF

Pearce, B. K. D., Molaverdikhani, K., Pudritz, R. E., Henning, Th., & Hébrard, E. (2020) HCN production in Titan's Atmosphere: Coupling quantum chemistry and disequilibrium atmospheric modeling. Astrophys J., 901, 110. PDF

Lai, J. C.-Y., Pearce, B. K. D., Pudritz, R. E., & Lee, D. (2019) Meteoritic Abundances of Fatty Acids and Potential Reaction Pathways in Planetesimals. Icarus, 319, 685–700.

Pearce, B. K. D., Ayers, P. W., & Pudritz, R. E. (2019) A Consistent Reduced Network for HCN Chemistry in Early Earth and Titan Atmospheres: Quantum Calculations of Reaction Rate Coefficients. J Phys Chem A, 123, 1861–1873. PDF

Pearce, B. K. D., Tupper, A. S., Pudritz, R. E., & Higgs, P. G. (2018) Constraining the Time Interval for the Origin of Life on Earth. Astrobiology, 18, 343–364. PDF

Pearce, B. K. D., Pudritz, R. E., Semenov, D. A., & Henning, Th. (2017) Origin of the RNA World: The Fate of Nucleobases in Warm Little Ponds. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 114, 11327–11332 (Cozzarelli Prize Winner)

Pearce, B. K. D., & Pudritz, R. E. (2016) Meteorites and the RNA World: A Thermodynamic Model of Nucleobase Synthesis within Planetesimals. Astrobiology, 16, 853–872

Cobb, A. K., Pudritz, R. E., & Pearce, B. K. D. (2015) Nature’s Starships II. Simulating the Synthesis of Amino Acids in Meteorite Parent Bodies. Astrophys J, 809, 6.

Pearce, B. K. D., & Pudritz, R. E. (2015) Seeding the Pregenetic Earth: Meteoritic Abundances of Nucleobases and Potential Reaction Pathways. Astrophys J, 807, 85