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Amino acids as catalysts in the emergence of RNA
6 Jun 2025
Amino acids helped build RNA at the dawn of life, a new study shows.
The question of how life could have emerged is one of the most long-standing mysteries in science. In a new study, the laboratory of LMU Professor Dieter Braun has uncovered an unexpected form of molecular collaboration between the fundamental components of life. The researchers found that amino acids – simple, abundant molecules on early Earth – can actively promote the polymerization of RNA under mild, prebiotic conditions.