Reactions and analysis investigating the nucleobase impacts on abiotic RNA polymerization
Loading...
Authors
Coari, Kristin M.
Issue Date
2015-12
Type
Electronic thesis
Thesis
Thesis
Language
ENG
Keywords
Chemistry
Alternative Title
Abstract
The origins of life are of particular interest to the scientific community and the field of astrobiology. Multitudes of hypotheses have been offered to tackle the question of how life first developed on Earth. Some have focused primarily on the origin of the chemical components leading to the first molecules of life, such as the creation of amino acids, sugars, and nucleobases and their more complex analogues such as nucleotides. Others have focused on the polymerization of these components to form peptides, polysaccharides, and polynucleotides. Still others have focused on the organization of multiple components to form proto-cells as precursors to life. The RNA World Hypothesis focuses on RNA polymers as the first functioning biomolecule of life; still, proponents of the hypothesis have yet to identify a route to accommodate the sequence constraints that we see in modern biology.
Description
December 2015
School of Science
School of Science
Full Citation
Publisher
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY