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Natural affinities—unrecognized until now—may have set stage for life to ignite
From phys.org:
...
Scientists have long thought that life started when the right combination of bases and sugars produced self-replicating ribonucleic acid, or RNA, inside a rudimentary "cell" composed of fatty acids. Under the right conditions, fatty acids naturally form into bag-like structures similar to today's cell membranes.
In testing one of the fatty acids representative of those found before life began – decanoic acid – the scientists discovered that the four bases in RNA bound more readily to the decanoic acid than did the other seven bases tested.
By concentrating more of the bases and sugar that are the building blocks of RNA, the system would have been primed for the next steps, reactions that led to RNA inside a bag.
"The bag is the easy part. Making RNA from scratch is very hard," Keller said. "If the parts that come together to make RNA happen to preferentially stick to the surfaces of bags, then everything gets easier."
more ...
Scientists have long thought that life started when the right combination of bases and sugars produced self-replicating ribonucleic acid, or RNA, inside a rudimentary "cell" composed of fatty acids. Under the right conditions, fatty acids naturally form into bag-like structures similar to today's cell membranes.
In testing one of the fatty acids representative of those found before life began – decanoic acid – the scientists discovered that the four bases in RNA bound more readily to the decanoic acid than did the other seven bases tested.
By concentrating more of the bases and sugar that are the building blocks of RNA, the system would have been primed for the next steps, reactions that led to RNA inside a bag.
"The bag is the easy part. Making RNA from scratch is very hard," Keller said. "If the parts that come together to make RNA happen to preferentially stick to the surfaces of bags, then everything gets easier."
more ...