Study of ribosome evolution challenges 'RNA World' hypothesis
Monday, March 12, 2012 - 16:00
in Biology & Nature
In the beginning of the ribosome, the cell's protein-building workbench there were ribonucleic acids, the molecules we call RNA that today perform a host of vital functions in cells. And according to a new analysis, even before the ribosome's many working parts were recruited for protein synthesis, proteins also were on the scene and interacting with RNA. This finding challenges a long-held hypothesis about the early evolution of life.