Whilst the planet soon learnt these few letters, mRNA, thanks to COVID and the lifesaving vaccine approach it afforded; RNA arguably is a molecular fossil – a piece of evolution that likely existed before modern cells. The RNA world hypothesis suggests that life on Earth began with a simple RNA molecule that could copy itself without help from other molecules. How could we hypothesise this? Think about hereditary expression and how that is conferred. If this was indeed the case, then RNA would have to both store genetic information and catalyse the reactions for the cells. Curiously RNA persists in catalysing many of the fundamental processes in cells today. How DNA rose to be the genetic material and how did the code arise, when did proteins become the main catalyst? If we have such a
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