Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

December 23, 2020

24/12/2020

Discovery boosts theory that life on Earth arose from RNA-DNA mix Newly described chemical reaction could have assembled DNA building blocks before life forms and their enzymes existed.

December 23, 2020

LA JOLLA, CA Chemists at Scripps Research have made a discovery that supports a surprising new view of how life originated on our planet.

In a study published in the chemistry journal Angewandte Chemie, they demonstrated that a simple compound called diamidophosphate (DAP), which was plausibly present on Earth before life arose, could have chemically knitted together tiny DNA building blocks called deoxynucleosides into strands of primordial DNA.

The finding is the latest in a series of discoveries, over the past several years, pointing to the possibility that DNA and its close chemical cousin RNA arose together as products of similar chemical reactions, and that the first self-replicating molecules the first life forms on Earth were mixes of the two.

The discovery may also lead to new practical applications in chemistry and biology, but its main significance is that it addresses the age-old question of how life on Earth first arose. In particular, it paves the way for more extensive studies of how self-replicating DNA-RNA mixes could have evolved and spread on the primordial Earth and ultimately seeded the more mature biology of modern organisms.

This finding is an important step toward the development of a detailed chemical model of how the first life forms originated on Earth, says study senior author Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy, PhD, associate professor of chemistry at Scripps Research.

The finding also nudges the field of origin-of-life chemistry away from the hypothesis that has dominated it in recent decades: The RNA World hypothesis posits that the first replicators were RNA-based, and that DNA arose only later as a product of RNA life forms.

Is RNA too sticky?

Krishnamurthy and others have doubted the RNA World hypothesis in part because RNA molecules may simply have been too sticky to serve as the first self-replicators.

A strand of RNA can attract other individual RNA building blocks, which stick to it to form a sort of mirror-image strand each building block in the new strand binding to its complementary building block on the original, template strand. If the new strand can detach from the template strand, and, by the same process, start templating other new strands, then it has achieved the feat of self-replication that underlies life.

But while RNA strands may be good at templating complementary strands, they are not so good at separating from these strands. Modern organisms make enzymes that can force twinned strands of RNA or DNA to go their separate ways, thus enabling replication, but it is unclear how this could have been done in a world where enzymes didn't yet exist.

A chimeric workaround

Krishnamurthy and colleagues have shown in recent studies that chimeric molecular strands that are part DNA and part RNA may have been able to get around this problem, because they can template complementary strands in a less-sticky way that permits them to separate relatively easily.

The chemists also have shown in widely cited papers in the past few years that the simple ribonucleoside and deoxynucleoside building blocks, of RNA and DNA respectively, could have arisen under very similar chemical conditions on the early Earth.

Moreover, in 2017 they reported that the organic compound DAP could have played the crucial role of modifying ribonucleosides and stringing them together into the first RNA strands. The new study shows that DAP under similar conditions could have done the same for DNA.

We found, to our surprise, that using DAP to react with deoxynucleosides works better when the deoxynucleosides are not all the same but are instead mixes of different DNA letters such as A and T, or G and C, like real DNA, says first author Eddy Jim nez, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate in the Krishnamurthy lab.

Now that we understand better how a primordial chemistry could have made the first RNAs and DNAs, we can start using it on mixes of ribonucleoside and deoxynucleoside building blocks to see what chimeric molecules are formed and whether they can self-replicate and evolve, Krishnamurthy says.

He notes that the work may also have broad practical applications. The artificial synthesis of DNA and RNA for example in the PCR technique that underlies COVID-19 tests amounts to a vast global business, but depends on enzymes that are relatively fragile and thus have many limitations. Robust, enzyme-free chemical methods for making DNA and RNA may end up being more attractive in many contexts, Krishnamurthy says.

Prebiotic Phosphorylation and Concomitant Oligomerization of Deoxynucleosides to form DNA was authored by Eddy Jim nez, Cl mentine Gibard and Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy. Funding was provided by the Simons Foundation.

Chemistry Krishnamurthy, Ramanarayanan
LINK: https://www.scripps.edu/news-and-events/press-room/2020/20201223-krish...
See more stories from scripps

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

28/04/2026

Nielsen and Triton Digital Collaborate to Bring Greater Visibility to Podcast Audiences in Nielsen's Media Impact Tool

Triton Digital's Podcast Metrics Demos+ Data Integration Enables Comprehensi...

28/04/2026

Paramount Skydance Will be 49.5% Foreign Owned After WBD Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

KEET PBS Deploys PMVG TechBundle Services To Modernize Operations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

TAG Video Systems Lens Wins Industry Awards for Cutting T...

TAG Video Systems, the leading IP-native Realtime Media Platform, today announced that Lens, its visual service health interface for broadcast operations, recei...

28/04/2026

AIMS Wins NAB Show 2026 Product of the Year Award for IPM...

Open AV-over-IP Standard Recognized in IT Networking/Infrastructure and Security Category The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced that the ...

28/04/2026

VFX History: Slit Scan

VFX History: Slit Scan Graham Quince April 28, 2026 0 Comments How did 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Wars, Doctor Who and Star Trek: The Next Generation...

28/04/2026

These DaVinci Resolve Effects Will Make You a More Creative Colorist

These DaVinci Resolve Effects Will Make You a More Creative Colorist Kasia Jarco April 28, 2026 0 Comments Creativity in color grading is not about ha...

28/04/2026

A Simple Introduction to Cavalry: Indexed Circle

A Simple Introduction to Cavalry: Indexed Circle Simon Ubsdell April 28, 2026 0 Comments In this new introductory tutorial for Cavalry we're going...

28/04/2026

Rise Upskill - Applications Now Open for Free Global Trai...

Rise, the award-winning advocacy group for gender diversity in the broadcast and media technology sector, is pleased to announce a new global training programme...

28/04/2026

Clear Com Announces New Roles for Brian Grahn and Ben Tur...

Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live, expanding their ...

28/04/2026

LiveU Steps into the Future at MPTS 2026 with the Introdu...

LiveU is inviting MPTS visitors to step into the companys new Q Era on Stand D32, at The Grand Hall, Olympia, London (May 13-14). The company will showcase its ...

28/04/2026

IBC launches 2026 Innovation Awards to spotlight real-wor...

IBC today announces the launch of the IBC2026 Innovation Awards, with nominations now open for projects, programmes and initiatives that exemplify breakthrough ...

28/04/2026

WNBA to Stream All Preseason Games for Free

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Nexstar Media Charitable Foundation Sets 30 Days of Giving'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Sinclair's Chief Compliance Officer Jeff Lewis to Retire

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Nielsen Introduces Predictive Sales Lift' Tool

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Sencore's VB440 Monitoring, Analysis Tool Debuts at NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Pinterest Makes a Major Push into CTV Advertising

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/04/2026

Introducing Nx 3-Strip v2 - A Physics-Based Technicolor Reconstruction for DaVinci Resolve

Introducing Nx 3-Strip v2 - A Physics-Based Technicolor Reconstruction for DaVin...

28/04/2026

Into the Omniverse: Manufacturing's Simulation-First Era Has Arrived

Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on how developers, 3D practitioners, and enterprises can transform their workflows ...

28/04/2026

NVIDIA Launches Nemotron 3 Nano Omni Model, Unifying Vision, Audio and Language for up to 9x More Efficient AI Agents

AI agent systems today juggle separate models for vision, speech and language - ...

28/04/2026

RT NEWS ANNOUNCES SEAN WHELAN AS NEW LONDON CORRESPONDENT

RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Whelan as its new London Correspondent. Sean has held the role of Washington Correspondent for the last...

28/04/2026

Six well-known figures delve into the 1926 Census archive

Joseph O'Connor, Eileen Walsh, Louise Duffy, Mick Lynch, Gormfhlaith N Thuairisg and Dermot Bannon take a personal look at life 100yrs ago in new TV docume...

27/04/2026

CES Power Acquires Three Ireland-Based Businesses

CES Power, a provider of infrastructure for live events, has announced the acquisition of three Ireland-based businesses: GH Energy Rental Ltd, Event Power, and...

27/04/2026

Fubo to Launch Multiview on Select LG TVs Ahead of 2026 Football Season

FuboTV Inc. has announced it is developing its Multiview feature for the Fubo streaming service on select LG TVs, including 2024, 2025, and newer 4K and 8K mode...

27/04/2026

Shade Raises $14 Million in Funding Round Led by Khosla Ventures

Shade, a file management platform for creative teams, has announced a $14 million funding round led by Khosla Ventures, Construct Capital, and Bling Capital, br...

27/04/2026

AES to Present Immersive Audio Academy 12th Edition on April 30

The Audio Engineering Society (AES) will present the Immersive Audio Academy 12th Edition - Immersive Audio in All Flavors - on April 30, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. ...

27/04/2026

DAZN Launches DAZN48 Creator Program for FIFA World Cup 2026

DAZN has announced DAZN48, a creator program for the FIFA World Cup 2026 that will recruit 48 creators - one representing each of the 48 qualified nations - to ...

27/04/2026

FloSports Acquires Streaming Rights to Four CrossFit Events

FloSports has announced exclusive streaming rights to four CrossFit competitions: Legends Del Mar: CrossFit Semi-Finals, Magic City Games, NorCal Classic, and t...

27/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telestream Pulse Named NAB Show 2026 Product of the Year for Monitoring and Measuring

Telestream has announced that Pulse, its software-defined test and measurement p...

27/04/2026

NAB 2026: Shade Wins 2026 NAB Show Product of the Year Award

Shade has announced it is a Cloud Computing and Storage winner in the 2026 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards. Winners were selected by a panel of industry exp...

27/04/2026

SVG All-Stars: Kelsey Kjeldsen, Senior Director and Video Ads Platform Lead, DTC Products, Tech, and Operations, NBA

Leading the NBA's video-ads platform, this Penn State grad is at the forefro...

27/04/2026

DAZN Extends T100 Triathlon World Tour Rights to Africa

DAZN has expanded its international broadcast rights for the T100 Triathlon World Tour to include Africa. All races from the T100 calendar will be available for...

27/04/2026

NAB 2026: NAB Show Announces 2026 Project and Product of the Year Award Winners

NAB Show has announced the recipients of its 2026 Project of the Year and Product of the Year Awards at a ceremony at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Each wi...

27/04/2026

DIRECTV Launches on Meta Quest Headsets as Sports Season Heats Up

DIRECTV has launched on Meta Quest headsets, becoming the first MVPD to offer live TV through the platform. The timing coincides with the stretch run of the MLB...

27/04/2026

TBL Team Boxing League and MSG Networks Announce Broadcast Partnership

TBL Team Boxing League has announced a broadcast agreement with MSG Networks to air all remaining Season 4 fights live across MSG's television and digital p...

27/04/2026

Audio Exhibitors Showcase New Platforms, Innovative Solutions for Complex Issues

IP integration, interoperability, growth of intercommunications were key concerns for vendors and visitors alike Attendees at the recently concluded 2026 NAB S...

27/04/2026

Behind The Mic: Kenny Beecham to Launch NBA Radio Show on SiriusXM; Mike Tomlin to Join NBC Pregame Show

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

27/04/2026

On the Show Floor, the Microphone Is Still the Place Where Audio Begins

A pro-audio emphasis, spectrum changes, and on-field audio mark the new products and enhancements to existing offerings Microphones remain the primary point of...

27/04/2026

NAB Show 2026 In Review: Our Complete Collection of Video Interviews with Industry Thought Leaders

The Sports Video Group team was all over the NAB Show floor out in Las Vegas las...

27/04/2026

Svenska artister genererade nra 2 miljarder kronor frn Spotify under 2025

N r Spotify grundades f r 20 r sedan dominerades musikmarknaden av illegal nedladdning. Sedan dess har streaming bidragit till att teruppr tta betalningsvilja...

27/04/2026

Introducing Fitness With Spotify: A New Way to Bring Movement Into Your Daily Routine

Time on Spotify should feel meaningful and intentional, not something that slips...

27/04/2026

Brainworx release bx_tonebox

New modular multi-effects plug-in revealed The latest plug-in from Brainworx delivers a modular set of effects designed to offer a convenient alternative to...

27/04/2026

Desert Island Boom Set from Schoeps

Kit includes supercardioid & shotgun capsules High-end mic manufacturer Schoeps have recently introduced another member of their Desert Island Set family. O...