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RNA-only repair enzyme reveals how primordial life could have protected genomes
In most modern cells, DNA stores the genetic blueprint, and proteins replicate, repair and build from those blueprints. At the same time, proteins require instructions from DNA to be made in the first place.
AI Summary
A recent discovery has shed light on the potential mechanisms of primordial life. Researchers have identified an RNA-only repair enzyme, which suggests that early life forms may have relied on RNA to both store genetic information and perform repair functions. This finding is significant because it implies that RNA could have played a more central role in the origins of life than previously thought. In modern cells, DNA stores genetic information and proteins perform repair functions, but this enzyme's existence indicates that RNA may have been capable of both tasks in the past. The discovery of this enzyme provides a new perspective on the evolution of life and the role of RNA in early life forms.
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