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I wonder if this supports the RNA World life origin hypothesis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA_world https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA_world , because Ura
by cft 4y ago
I wonder if this supports the RNA World life origin hypothesis https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA_world https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA_world , because Uracil doesn't occur in DNA.
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y agoIt's my understanding that the RNA world hypothesis is pretty much widely accepted these days anyway. The open question is more how you get to the RNA world in the first place. The RNA hypothesis as such is more an hypothesis of what preceded life based on DNA and protein, and less so a theory of the origin of life from non-life per se. The two main camps today seem to be "metabolism first" with people like Nick Lane and "genetics first" with people like Jack Szostack. I used to favour the genetics side but I've been leaning more towards metabolism recently. Lane's research on this has been fascinating.
- cft 4y agoCan you link to this research? Perhaps an overview link would make a good OP for Hacker News.
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y agoHe provides download links to most his papers on his website: https://nick-lane.net/publications/ https://nick-lane.net/publications/ As for a good introduction to what his(and the many other people working in his lab) research is getting at, I really recommend the podcast episode he did on Sean Carroll's Mindscape podcast.
- MagicMoonlight 4y agoRNA is a structure capable of being both a store of data and a catalyst. As RNA forms spontaneously with time, eventually you would end up with an RNA which can catalyse its own ingredients and replicate. As soon as you have one, it would replicate and take over the pool. Random changes would then lead to advancement. Membranes also form spontaneously so the replicating RNA could find itself a bubble through random chance and live in it.