"What are some ways in which scientists gather evidence of life on other planets?"
-
Replicating RNA
Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute have made important steps toward understanding how life originated by shedding light on the ‘RNA World’ hypothesis. The ‘RNA World’ refers to the idea that life on Earth went through a stage where RNA was used to store information and act as a catalyst, much like DNA and proteins are used in organisms today. A critical component of this stage would be that RNA molecules would have to replicate themselves. The team at Scripps has now synthesized RNA enzymes that can replicate themselves without the help of additional molecules. These RNA-based, self-replicating systems could be a model for how life on Earth first began to operate.
Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]
- Hiding from Jupiter's Radiation
- Replicating RNA
- Martian Methane Reveals the Red Planet is not a Dead Planet
- Methane-Spewing Martians?
- A Banner Year for Astrobiology in Discover Magazine's Top 100 Stories of 2008
- Astrobiology Summer Science Experience for Teachers (ASSET)
- NAI Scientist Elected AAAS Fellow
- Examining a SLIce of the Arctic
- Astrobiology Top 10
- Planets Form in the Eye of the Storm