How such complex molecules as DNA, even the simpler RNA molecule, could have spontaneously come into being in the 'primordial cooking pot' has been a subject of much confusion amongst scientists for decades. RNA consists of long chains of ribonucleotides, each of these containing a nitrogenous base, a sugar and phosphate group. Many assumed that these three components initially formed separately before coming together, but this seemed unlikely as two of the four bases did not readily bond with the sugar.
John Sutherland from the University of Manchester, UK, has worked out a new mechanism of joining these components together in order to create a synthetic RNA molecule. His team have synthesised RNA by working with 5 molecules that were thought to be present in the primordial soup, hence simulating how RNA may have first arisen. The conditions and 'recipe' used by Sutherland and his team to mix the 5 ingredients, involving a blast of UV light, created ribonucleotides by utilising a molecule that contains both the sugar and the base, rather than forcing the two molecules to unwillingly bond with each other.
This method only works however, by means of another trick - the phosphate group must be present from the very beginning, although it does not react until the end - it is used as a catalyst and a buffer to start off with. "We don't use any way-out scenarios - all the conditions are consistent with what we know about early Earth," says Sutherland.
Original Article:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20227084.200-molecule-of-life-emerges-from-laboratory-slime.html
Ryan Droney (41745180)
