Rare Earth Elements Reveal New Roles in Technology, Biology and the Origins of Life
What Are Rare Earth Elements and Why They Matter
Rare earth elements, commonly known as REEs, consist of a group of 17 elements that share closely related chemical characteristics. Alongside the two lightest members, scandium and yttrium, the group includes elements such as lanthanum, cerium and neodymium, as well as the radioactive element promethium.
Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually scarce in the Earth's crust. Instead, their significance lies in the uneven distribution of their deposits across the globe, giving them considerable geopolitical importance. REEs play a vital role in modern technology, powering everything from smartphones and powerful magnets — including those used in wind turbines—to catalysts and advanced optical components.
Ongoing reporting on critical minerals, sustainability and future technologies can be found at FSNews365, which regularly covers science and resource-driven innovation.
How Organisms Absorb Rare Earth Elements
Bio-Inspired Solutions for Recycling Critical Materials
The Bioinorganic Chemistry team led by Professor Dr Lena Daumann is investigating how living organisms are able to absorb rare earth elements. The long-term goal is to harness these natural processes for technological use, enabling the extraction of these elements or their recovery from discarded electronic devices.
In their study, "Reversing Lanmodulin's Metal-Binding Sequence in Short Peptides Surprisingly Increases the Lanthanide Affinity," published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Daumann's group—working with the Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) — focused on short protein chains, known as peptides. These were inspired by lanmodulin, a rare-earth-binding protein found in the bacterium Methylorubrum extorquens AM1. The peptides synthesized in Düsseldorf demonstrated a remarkably strong ability to bind rare earth elements.
A Discovery Born from an Unexpected Mistake
Reversed Peptides with Stronger Binding Power
Lead author Dr Sophie M. Gutenthaler-Tietze, a postdoctoral researcher at Daumann's institute, explained that the discovery stemmed from an unexpected mistake. "The peptides were originally created through a synthesis error, in which the amino-acid sequence was accidentally reversed compared with natural lanmodulin," she said. "Surprisingly, these altered peptides bind rare earth elements with an affinity one order of magnitude higher than the natural protein."
Working alongside colleagues from Helmholtz Centre Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), the researchers pinpointed specific structural motifs responsible for the peptides' exceptionally strong binding ability. Professor Dr Lena Daumann explained that these insights allowed the team to further refine the peptides, boosting their affinity into the low nanomolar range. She added that the peptides provide an ideal foundation for developing sustainable, bio-inspired methods to recycle rare earth elements. By recovering materials that have already been used, the approach could reduce environmental pressure while strengthening independence from raw-material imports.
Environmental sustainability, resource reuse and long-term ecological impact are also examined at Earth Day Harsh Reality, which links scientific advances with planetary challenges.
Rare Earth Elements and Early Life on Earth
A New Role in Prebiotic Chemistry
A second study, also published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition and titled "Influence of Rare Earth Elements on Prebiotic Reaction Network Resembling the Biologically Relevant Krebs Cycle," explores a very different dimension of rare earth elements—their potential role in the emergence of life on early Earth.
More than 3.5 billion years ago, on an Earth still devoid of life, simple organic building blocks began reacting under favourable conditions. Over time, these interactions produced increasingly complex structures that later became the precursors of biological macromolecules. Metals such as iron are widely believed to have played a crucial catalytic role in this process. Until now, however, the possible involvement of rare earth elements has received little attention.
Building Blocks of Life Under Rare Earth Influence
Krebs Cycle Precursors Identified
Lead author Dr Jonathan Gutenthaler-Tietze explained that the team set out to test this idea for the first time in a systematic way. He said the results showed that rare earth elements can indeed influence key chemical reactions under prebiotic conditions. Starting with glyoxylate and pyruvate — two simple organic acids thought to be potential starting materials for early life — the researchers identified seven of the eleven intermediates of the biological Krebs cycle in the presence of rare earth elements. The Krebs cycle forms the backbone of energy metabolism in all living organisms, and the observed reactions created a complex, interconnected chemical network.
Professor Dr Lena Daumann added that the reactivity of rare earth elements is closely linked to their ionic radii. She noted that even extremely low concentrations were enough to significantly affect the reaction network, bringing a previously overlooked group of elements firmly into the spotlight of prebiotic research.
The broader implication of such discoveries — linking chemistry, biology and human wellbeing — are also discussed at Human Health Issues, which explores how fundamental science shapes future health and life sciences.
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