658197 external_news 1652453873 1652453873 RNA has long been thought to be a key molecule in the primordial soup that was Earth a few billion years ago, because it can not only store genetic information but also act as an enzyme — two key functions needed for the development of life. But whether RNA-based life really existed, what it looked like, and how it evolved into the DNA-, RNA-, and protein-based organisms of today have remained open questions. Now, a study published in Nature points to the possibility that RNAs may have played a role in building early proteins by simply linking amino acids together. Loren Williams, professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, did not participate in the study but says if the origins of RNA "and the origins of protein are linked, and their emergence is not independent, then the math shifts radically in favor of an RNA–protein world and away from an RNA world.”

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