Setting the Stage: The History, Chemistry, and Geobiology behind RNA | Zendy

Steven A. Benner | Zendy; H.-J. Kim | Zendy; Zunyi Yang | Zendy

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Setting the Stage: The History, Chemistry, and Geobiology behind RNA

Author(s) -

Steven A. Benner,

H.-J. Kim,

Zunyi Yang

Publication year - 2010

Publication title -

cold spring harbor perspectives in biology

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 6.011

H-Index - 173

ISSN - 1943-0264

DOI - 10.1101/cshperspect.a003541

Subject(s) - abiogenesis , rna world hypothesis , biology , rna , ecology , astrobiology , genetics , gene , ribozyme

No community-accepted scientific methods are available today to guide studies on what role RNA played in the origin and early evolution of life on Earth. Further, a definition-theory for life is needed to develop hypotheses relating to the "RNA First" model for the origin of life. Four approaches are currently at various stages of development of such a definition-theory to guide these studies. These are (a) paleogenetics, in which inferences about the structure of past life are drawn from the structure of present life; (b) prebiotic chemistry, in which hypotheses with experimental support are sought that get RNA from organic and inorganic species possibly present on early Earth; (c) exploration, hoping to encounter life independent of terran life, which might contain RNA; and (d) synthetic biology, in which laboratories attempt to reproduce biological behavior with unnatural chemical systems.

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