The complexity of even the simplest known life forms makes efforts to synthesize living cells
from inanimate components seem like a daunting task. However, recent progress toward the …

The emergence of the replication of RNA oligonucleotides was a critical step in the origin of
life. An important model for the study of nonenzymatic template copying, which would be a …

This Perspective focuses on RNA in biological and nonbiological compartments resulting
from liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS), with an emphasis on origins of life. In extant …

A commonly accepted view is that life began in a marine environment, which would imply
the presence of inorganic ions such as Na+, Cl-, Mg2+, Ca2+, and Fe2+. We have …

Polymeric compounds similar to oligonucleotides are relevant to the origin of life and
particularly to the concept of an RNA world. Although short oligomers of RNA can be …

The first ribozymes are thought to have emerged at a time when RNA replication proceeded
via nonenzymatic template copying processes. However, functional RNAs have stable …

Discovering pathways leading to long-chain RNA formation under feasible prebiotic
conditions is an essential step toward demonstrating the viability of the RNA World …

The rate constants for the condensation reaction of the 5'-phosphorimidazolide of adenosine
(ImpA) to form dinucleotides and oligonucleotides havebeen measuredin the presence of …

The development of a sequence-general nucleic acid copying system is an essential step in
the assembly of a synthetic protocell, an autonomously replicating spatially localized …

The nonenzymatic polymerization of RNA may have enabled copying of functional
sequences during the origin of life. Recent progress utilizing 5′-phosphoro-2 …