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Origin of life

Cold-hearted RNA heats up life

Nature Chemistry volume 5, pages 987–989 (2013)Cite this article

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An RNA replicase ribozyme has long been sought by chemists interested in the origin of life. Now, a selection strategy employing a low-temperature water–ice mixture as the medium has led to discovery of a ribozyme that can catalyse polymerization of an RNA chain greater than its own length.

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Figure 1: Progress towards an RNA replicase ribozyme.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Niles Lehman is in the Department of Chemistry at Portland State University, PO Box 751, Portland, Oregon 97207, USA,

    Niles Lehman

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  1. Niles Lehman
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Correspondence to Niles Lehman.

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Lehman, N. Cold-hearted RNA heats up life. Nature Chem 5, 987–989 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.1811

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