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Origins of life: first came evolutionary dynamics.


ABSTRACT: When life arose from prebiotic molecules 3.5 billion years ago, what came first? Informational molecules (RNA, DNA), functional ones (proteins), or something else? We argue here for a different logic: rather than seeking a molecule type, we seek a dynamical process. Biology required an ability to evolve before it could choose and optimise materials. We hypothesise that the evolution process was rooted in the peptide folding process. Modelling shows how short random peptides can collapse in water and catalyse the elongation of others, powering both increased folding stability and emergent autocatalysis through a disorder-to-order process.

SUBMITTER: Kocher C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10392681 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Origins of life: first came evolutionary dynamics.

Kocher Charles C   Dill Ken A KA  

QRB discovery 20230322


When life arose from prebiotic molecules 3.5 billion years ago, what came first? Informational molecules (RNA, DNA), functional ones (proteins), or something else? We argue here for a different logic: rather than seeking a <i>molecule type</i>, we seek a <i>dynamical process.</i> Biology required an ability to evolve before it could choose and optimise materials. We hypothesise that the <i>evolution process</i> was rooted in the <i>peptide folding process.</i> Modelling shows how short random pe  ...[more]

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