Life is an out of equilibrium system sustained by a continuous supply of energy. In extant biology, the generation of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) and its use in the synthesis of biomolecules requires sophisticated enzymes. Before the emergence of such enzymes, alternative energy sources, perhaps assisted by simple catalysts, must have mediated the formation, activation and joining...
A critical event in the origin of life is thought to have been the emergence of an RNA molecule capable of self-replication as well as mutation, and hence evolution towards ever more efficient replication. Although this ancestral replicase appears to have been lost, key aspects of RNA-catalyzed RNA replication can be studied “by proxy” with the use of modern RNA enzymes (ribozymes) generated...
