I’m curious about how biological processes arose from pre-biological ones (i.e., how life arose).  The “RNA World Hypothesis” suggests that RNA-like molecules are a good candidate.

However, in order to entertain this hypothesis, one has to presume there was either a natural abundance of nucleotide monomers floating around – in an environment that encouraged them to form into polymers… or, there was some natural process that was essentially producing RNA chains, of various lengths and consisting of various nucleotides.

Question:  Are we aware of any natural (non-biological) environments on earth today, or any natural (non-biological) mechanisms, by which nucleotide monomers (or oligomers) are produced?

Or, for that matter, ANY monomer – polymer families that are naturally occurring - from which RNA might have slowly evolved / emerged?

And as long as I’m on the topic, what about sugar polymers?  Are there any examples today of the non-biological creation of sugar monomers or oligomers?

Thanks in advance,

JeffKos

On the matter of sugars, an interstellar origin is possible:

Glycolaldehyde, the simplest aldehyde sugar was the first sugar detected in interstellar space,  almost twenty years ago.

Since then this same sugar has been detected in a comet. 

Laboratory work with cometary ice analogs has confirmed the formation of sugars in these conditions.

Delivery of prebiotic organic compounds by comet or asteroid is accepted as probable.

14 hours ago, JeffKos said:

Question:  Are we aware of any natural (non-biological) environments on earth today, or any natural (non-biological) mechanisms, by which nucleotide monomers (or oligomers) are produced?

Yes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller–Urey_experiment

        Clay on the bottom of the ocean catalyse these large molecules..