Researchers, including those from Rutgers University in the US, found a simple peptide molecule with two nickel atoms is one of the most likely molecules that sparked life on Earth. They have called the short protein molecule ‘Nickelback’ due to its backbone nitrogen atoms bonding with two nickel atoms. Rutgers researchers on the study include: Distinguished Professor Paul Falkowski and Jennifer Timm, a postdoctoral associate, in the Environmental Biophysics and Molecular Ecology Program, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences