RNA world hypothesis
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hypothetical phase of the history of life, in which self-replicating RNA proliferated
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
A comparison of RNA (left) with DNA (right), showing the helices and nucleobases each employs
The RNA world is a hypothetical stage in the evolutionary history of life on Earth in which self-replicating RNA molecules proliferated before the evolution of DNA and proteins. The term also refers to the hypothesis that posits the existence of this stage. Alexander Rich first proposed the concept of the RNA world in 1962, and Walter Gilbert coined the term in 1986.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “RNA world hypothesis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.