The predominant theory in the science community regarding the evolution of complex life is what is known as the ‘RNA-world’ hypothesis. This theory states that RNA, the building block that plays a crucial role in the regulation of genes, was the fundamental ingredient of primordial soup that eventually lead to short proteins and then organisms. However, both Carter and Wills do not believe that RNA has the required properties for this spontaneous formation of life, mainly the property of reflexivity.
Carter and Wills have discovered a group of 20 ancient enzymes known as aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs). These ancient enzymes can still be found in remnant form in all living cells and some sub-cellular structures. They believe that these ancient enzymes, in combination with the RNA found in primordial soup, would have been able to jumpstart the evolution of complex life. Together, the dubbed their theory the ‘peptide-RNA’ theory.
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