Origin of life: A new scenario for replication

The emergence of life on Earth is still an unsolved puzzle, but a common theory is that replication of genetic material – the nucleic acids DNA and RNA – was a central and critical process. RNA molecules can store genetic information and catalyse their own replication through forming double-stranded helices. The combination of these abilities allows them to mutate, evolve and adapt to diverse environments and ultimately encode the protein building blocks of life.

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