Origin and Evolution of Life

Electric discharges can generate organic molecules

The Murchisonmeteorite containsorganic moleculese.g. D- and L-amino acids

Ribozymes and introns may be relics of an RNA world

Peptide bond formation in ribosomes

Directed evolution:Artificial RNAs can polymerize ribonucleotides in vitro

Primordial replicases:RNAs may catalyze its own replication

A putative RNA replicase cycle

No Darwinian evolution outside of compartments

Compartmentalization may lead to accumulationof improved RNA replicases

A synthetic minimal genome

Living bacteria that harbor a synthetic minimal genome