One of the biggest pieces of this argument has been that the
RNA, which now helps DNA produce proteins, is too complex to
arise from undirected chemical reactions. New research disproves
this claim. The new findings map out a series of simple,
efficient chemical reactions that could have formed molecules of
RNA, a close cousin of DNA, from the basic materials available
more than 3.85 billion years ago, researchers report online May
13 in Nature. . . The new research lends support to the idea
that RNA-based life-forms were the first step toward the
evolution of modern life. Called the RNA world hypothesis, the
idea was first proposed some 40 years ago. But until now,
scientists couldn’t figure out the chemical reactions that
created the earliest RNA molecules. Today, DNA encodes the
genetic blueprint for life — excluding some viruses, for those
who consider viruses living — and RNA acts as an intermediary in
the process, making protein from DNA. But most scientists think
it’s unlikely that DNA was the basis of