Unified synthesis shows how genetic alphabet could have been put together on early Earth
Cycles of wet and then dry conditions provide the right conditions to make all the nucleobases from basic chemicals
Researchers say they have shown how the four chemical ‘letters’ of the genetic alphabet may have arisen together under the same conditions on early Earth. The work offers a glimpse into how information encoding RNA building blocks crucial for life could have first evolved in shallow ponds driven by repeated cycles of drying-out and refilling.