Scientists Near Breakthrough in Understanding Life’s Origins

Speedy Summary:

• researchers have developed an RNA system capable of partial self-replication, taking science closer to understanding how life began.
• RNA is crucial for the origins of life due to its ability to store facts and catalyze reactions, though it’s less efficient than DNA or proteins.
• The team at University College London found that triplets of RNA letters bind strongly enough to prevent rezipping, enabling replication in laboratory conditions involving temperature and pH changes.
• Currently, only 30 of the RNA enzyme’s 180 letters can replicate; improving efficiency might lead to complete replication.
• Experimental insights suggest a correlation between ancient replication mechanisms and current biological processes like protein translation via the triplet code.

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