Abstract
I read about this at ScienceDaily (
here).
Basically, these scientists are proposing that tPNA---thioester peptide nucleic acids, a group DNA-like molecules that use peptide bonds instead of phosphate bonds---might have been involved in the origin of life.
According to my understanding of the abstract (I haven't been able to get the full text yet), they think that tPNA---which can reversibly bond to DNA bases without the aid of an enzyme---could have been a prescursor to the complex systems of enzymes that polymerize and transcribe DNA in modern organisms.
I am not a biochemist, and I haven't been able to download the full text yet, so any clarifying comments or corrections from more qualified individuals would be appreciated.
-Bluejay (a.k.a. Mantis, Thylacosmilus)
Darwin loves you.
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