Kevin Woods publishes in Semigroup Forum; Aaron Goldman in Journal of Molecular Evolution

Two new publications from Math and Biology faculty; as indexed in Web of Science 

Bogart, T., Goodrick, J. and Woods, Kevin (Professor and Chair of Mathematics). Periodic behavior in families of numerical and affine semigroups via parametric Presburger arithmetic. - Semigroup Forum DOI: 10.1007/s00233-021-10164-3 (Early access; no volume or pagination available)  Subscriber access at publisher's website (SpringerLink)

From the abstract: The tool we use is expressibility in the logical system of parametric Presburger arithmetic. Generalizing to higher dimensional families of semigroups, we also examine affine semigroups  𝑆𝑛⊆ℕ𝑚$S_n\subseteq {\mathbb{N}}^m$ generated by vectors whose coordinates are polynomial functions of n, and we prove that in this case the Betti numbers are also eventually quasi-polynomial functions of n.

Goldman, Aaron. D. (Associate Professor of Biology) and Kacar, B. Cofactors are Remnants of Life's Origin and Early Evolution. - Journal of Molecular Evolution  DOI: 10.1007/s00239-020-09988-4 (Early access; no volume or pagination available)  Free full text at publisher's website (SpringerLink)

From the abstract: The RNA World is one of the most widely accepted hypotheses explaining the origin of the genetic system used by all organisms today. It proposes that the tripartite system of DNA, RNA, and proteins was preceded by one consisting solely of RNA, which both stored genetic information and performed the molecular functions encoded by that genetic information. Current research into a potential RNA World revolves around the catalytic properties of RNA-based enzymes, or ribozymes....Evidence from prebiotic geochemistry, ribozyme biochemistry, and evolutionary biology, increasingly supports these hypotheses. Certain coenzymes and cofactors may bridge modern biology with the past and can thus provide insights into the elusive and poorly-recorded period of the origin and early evolution of life.