Planetary Simulation of DNA and RNA Dynamics

Simulation @ Earth

Inspiration

We were inspired by one of humanity’s biggest questions: could life exist beyond Earth? Since DNA and RNA are the fundamental building blocks of life, we wanted to explore how these molecules might behave under alien conditions such as those on Mars, Europa, or Titan. This curiosity drove us to design a simulation framework that connects astrobiology with computational modeling in a hands-on, interactive way.

What it does

Our project simulates the stability, replication, mutation, and survival of DNA and RNA across diverse planetary environments. By adjusting factors like temperature, pH, UV radiation, and ionic strength, users can observe how populations of DNA and RNA strands evolve over time. An interactive web interface visualizes dynamics, compares results across environments, and highlights which conditions favor life’s persistence.

How we built it

Simulation engine in Python to model hydrolysis, UV degradation, replication probabilities, and error rates.
Flask backend to run simulations on demand.
Plotly for dynamic, interactive population plots.
HTML/CSS templates for an accessible, user-friendly interface.

Challenges we ran into

Balancing biological accuracy with computational simplicity.
Designing probabilistic replication and mutation models.
Keeping simulations efficient while scaling populations.
Building a clear comparison interface for different environments.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Creating a fully functional end-to-end simulator in limited time.
Making complex concepts in astrobiology approachable through visualization.
Building a framework flexible enough to expand with new planetary datasets.

What we learned

We learned how environmental parameters directly impact molecular stability, how to simplify kinetic/thermodynamic models for computation, and how to integrate simulation outputs into an engaging web app. We also improved our skills in teamwork, rapid prototyping, and scientific communication.

What’s next for Planetary Simulation of DNA and RNA Dynamics

We plan to:

Integrate real NASA PDS environmental datasets.
Add more complex evolutionary dynamics like selection and competition.
Extend the framework to proteins and metabolic precursors.
Open-source the tool as an educational platform for students and researchers in astrobiology.