{"658401":{"#nid":"658401","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"Origin of Life Theory Involving RNA-Protein Hybrid Gets New Support","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EChemists say they have solved a crucial problem in a theory of life\u0026rsquo;s beginnings, by demonstrating that RNA molecules can link short chains of amino acids together.\u0026nbsp;The findings, published\u0026nbsp;in\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003ENature\u003C\/em\u003E, support a variation on the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-019-02622-4\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003E\u0026lsquo;RNA world\u0026rsquo; hypothesis\u003C\/a\u003E, which proposes that before the evolution of DNA and the proteins it encodes, the first organisms were based on strands of RNA, a molecule that can both store genetic information \u0026mdash; as sequences of the nucleosides A, C, G and U \u0026mdash; and act as a catalyst for chemical reactions.\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;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\u0026ndash;protein world and away from an RNA world,\u0026rdquo; says\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/people\/loren-williams\u0022\u003E Loren Williams\u003C\/a\u003E, professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E who was not involved in the study.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2022-05-20 17:42:28","changed_gmt":"2022-05-20 17:42:28","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"https:\/\/www.scientificamerican.com\/article\/origin-of-life-theory-involving-rna-protein-hybrid-gets-new-support\/","dateline":{"date":"2022-05-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2022-05-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166928","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"10720","name":"Loren Williams"},{"id":"984","name":"RNA"},{"id":"136661","name":"origins of life"},{"id":"190620","name":"peptides"},{"id":"109501","name":"amino acids"},{"id":"1041","name":"dna"},{"id":"190658","name":"peptide chains"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}