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Self-Replicating RNA – QT45
March 5 , 2026
14 hrs 0 min
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- Scientists have reported that RNA may have been Earth’s first genetic material after discovering a self-replicating RNA molecule called QT45.
- QT45 is a small RNA molecule of 45 nucleotides that can copy itself under special conditions.
- This supports the RNA World hypothesis, which suggests early life depended only on RNA before DNA and proteins evolved.
- The Miller–Urey experiment in 1953 showed that amino acids could form under early Earth conditions, but it did not produce DNA or RNA.
- QT45 copies itself using three-nucleotide building blocks, but the process is very slow compared to modern cells.
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