A Possible Path to the RNA World: Enantioselective and Diastereoselective Purification of Ribose

Chapter 7 describes the fundamental role of randomness in quantum mechanics, in generating the first biomolecules, and in biological evolution. Experiments testing the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox have demonstrated, via Bell’s inequalities, that no local hidden variable theory can provide a viable alternative to quantum mechanics, with its fundamental randomness built in. Randomness presumably plays an equally important role in the chemical assembly of a wide array of polymer molecules to be sampled for their ability to store genetic information and self-replicate, fueling the sort of abiogenesis assumed in the RNA world hypothesis of life’s beginnings. Evidence for random mutations in biological evolution, microevolution of both bacteria and antibodies and macroevolution of the species, is briefly reviewed. The importance of natural selection in guiding the adaptation of species to changing environments is emphasized. A speculative role of cosmological natural selection for black-hole fecundity in the evolution of universes is discussed.

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Are Scientific Models of Life Testable? A Lesson from Simpson’s Paradox

Sci ◽

10.3390/sci2030073 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 73

Author(s):

Prasanta S. Bandyopadhyay ◽

Nolan Grunska ◽

Don Dcruz ◽

Mark C. Greenwood

Keyword(s):

Origin Of Life ◽

Rna World ◽

Scientific Models ◽

Scientific Model ◽

Simpson’S Paradox ◽

World Theory ◽

Life Issues ◽

The Origin Of Life ◽

Logical Sense ◽

Simpson's Paradox

We address the need for a model by considering two competing theories regarding the origin of life: (i) the Metabolism First theory and (ii) the RNA World theory. We discuss two inter-related points. (I) Models are valuable tools in understanding both the processes and intricacies of the origin of life issues. (II) Insights from models also help us to evaluate the core objection to origin of life theories called “the inefficiency objection” commonly raised by proponents of both the Metabolism First theory and the RNA World theory against each other. We use Simpson’s paradox as a tool for challenging this objection. We will use models in various senses ranging from taking them as representations of reality to treating them as theories/accounts that provide heuristics for probing reality. In this paper, we will frequently use models and theories interchangeably. Additionally, we investigate Conway’s Game of Life and contrast it with our Simpson’s Paradox (SP)-based approach to emergence of life issues. Finally, we discuss some of the consequences of our view. A scientific model is testable in three senses: (i) a logical sense, (ii) a nomological sense, and (iii) a current technological sense. The SP-based model is testable in the logical sense. It is also testable nomologically. However, it is not currently feasible to test it.

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The RNA World and its origins

Planetary and Space Science ◽

10.1016/0032-0633(94)00166-o ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 43 (1-2) ◽

pp. 161-165 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Alan W. Schwartz

Keyword(s):

Rna World

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Cofactors are Remnants of Life’s Origin and Early Evolution

Journal of Molecular Evolution ◽

10.1007/s00239-020-09988-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 89 (3) ◽

pp. 127-133 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Aaron D. Goldman ◽

Betul Kacar

Keyword(s):

Genetic Information ◽

Evolutionary Biology ◽

Active Sites ◽

Rna World ◽

Genetic System ◽

Early Evolution ◽

Modern Biology ◽

Iron Sulfur Cluster ◽

Adenosyl Methionine ◽

Precursor Rna

AbstractThe RNA World is one of the most widely accepted hypotheses explaining the origin of the genetic system used by all organisms today. It proposes that the tripartite system of DNA, RNA, and proteins was preceded by one consisting solely of RNA, which both stored genetic information and performed the molecular functions encoded by that genetic information. Current research into a potential RNA World revolves around the catalytic properties of RNA-based enzymes, or ribozymes. Well before the discovery of ribozymes, Harold White proposed that evidence for a precursor RNA world could be found within modern proteins in the form of coenzymes, the majority of which contain nucleobases or nucleoside moieties, such as Coenzyme A and S-adenosyl methionine, or are themselves nucleotides, such as ATP and NADH (a dinucleotide). These coenzymes, White suggested, had been the catalytic active sites of ancient ribozymes, which transitioned to their current forms after the surrounding ribozyme scaffolds had been replaced by protein apoenzymes during the evolution of translation. Since its proposal four decades ago, this groundbreaking hypothesis has garnered support from several different research disciplines and motivated similar hypotheses about other classes of cofactors, most notably iron-sulfur cluster cofactors as remnants of the geochemical setting of the origin of life. Evidence from prebiotic geochemistry, ribozyme biochemistry, and evolutionary biology, increasingly supports these hypotheses. Certain coenzymes and cofactors may bridge modern biology with the past and can thus provide insights into the elusive and poorly-recorded period of the origin and early evolution of life.

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