Tag: RNA world
In the Beginning, Before There Was RNA, There Was…TNA?
Much of current origin-of-life research suffers from a myopia where researchers hone in on solving a particular problem without contextualizing their solution.
Tiptoe Through the (Cambrian) Tulips
A new oddity from the seas of the Cambrian era.
Methinks He Is Like a Dawkins: Prominent RNA World Researcher Michael Yarus Commits Famous “Weasel” Blunder
“To suggest how Darwinian evolution can surf across supposed oceans of improbability, I have set up a mutation-selection demonstration.”
Origin of Life Researchers: Intelligent Design of Self-Replicating RNA Molecules Refutes Intelligent Design
A recent Nature news article remarks about the production of the first self-replicating RNA molecules capable of catalyzing their own replication. Origin of life researchers are excited about this because they think it shows one possible step in their story about how life might have arisen via natural processes, without intelligent design (ID). One big problem with their story: under no uncertain terms did natural processes produce this molecule. One line from the Nature article says it all: “Joyce and his colleague Tracey Lincoln made paired RNA catalysts.” (emphasis added) One pro-ID chemist explained to me privately the precise design parameters that were required to produce the self-replicating enzymes and to use it to produce life: The system is completely Read More ›