beecee Posted April 5, 2019 Share Posted April 5, 2019 (edited) http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Building_blocks_of_DNA_and_RNA_could_have_appeared_together_before_life_began_on_Earth_999.html Building blocks of DNA and RNA could have appeared together before life began on Earth by Staff Writers La Jolla CA (SPX) Apr 03, 2019 Scientists for the first time have found strong evidence that RNA and DNA could have arisen from the same set of precursor molecules even before life evolved on Earth about four billion years ago. The discovery, published April 1 in Nature Chemistry, suggests that the first living things on Earth may have used both RNA and DNA, as all cell-based life forms do now. In contrast, the prevailing scientific view - the "RNA World" hypothesis - is that early life forms were based purely on RNA, and only later evolved to make and use DNA. "These new findings suggest that it may not be reasonable for chemists to be so heavily guided by the RNA World hypothesis in investigating the origins of life on Earth," says co-principal investigator Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy, PhD, associate professor of chemistry at Scripps Research. more at link...... Edited April 5, 2019 by beecee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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