In recent developments in chemistry and genetic engineering, the humble researcher dealing with the origin of life finds her（him）self in a grey area of tackling something that even does not yet have a clear definiti...In recent developments in chemistry and genetic engineering, the humble researcher dealing with the origin of life finds her（him）self in a grey area of tackling something that even does not yet have a clear definition agreed upon. A series of chemical steps is described to be considered as the life-nonlife transition, if one adheres to the minimalistic definition： life is self-reproduction with variations. The fully artificial RNA system chosen for the exploration corresponds sequence-wise to the reconstructed initial triplet repeats, presumably corresponding to the earliest protein-coding molecules. The demonstrated occurrence of the mismatches （variations） in otherwise complementary syntheses （＂self-reproduction＂）, in this RNA system, opens an experimental and conceptual perspective to explore the origin of life （and its definition）, on the apparent edge of the origin.展开更多
基金supported by Grant ASI-INAF n. I/015/07/0 "Esplorazione del Sistema Solare"
文摘In recent developments in chemistry and genetic engineering, the humble researcher dealing with the origin of life finds her（him）self in a grey area of tackling something that even does not yet have a clear definition agreed upon. A series of chemical steps is described to be considered as the life-nonlife transition, if one adheres to the minimalistic definition： life is self-reproduction with variations. The fully artificial RNA system chosen for the exploration corresponds sequence-wise to the reconstructed initial triplet repeats, presumably corresponding to the earliest protein-coding molecules. The demonstrated occurrence of the mismatches （variations） in otherwise complementary syntheses （＂self-reproduction＂）, in this RNA system, opens an experimental and conceptual perspective to explore the origin of life （and its definition）, on the apparent edge of the origin.
