Summary
Five principles underly the evolution of the genetic language: formation of stereoregular heteropolymers, selection through self-replication, evolution of quasispecies towards optimal structures, regulated cooperation between competitors through catalytic hypercycles and evaluation of translation products through compartmentalization. These principles are formulated and illustrated by means of experimental results
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Dedicated to the memory of Harold C. Urey (1893–1981)
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Eigen, M., Schuster, P. Stages of emerging life —Five principles of early organization. J Mol Evol 19, 47–61 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100223
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02100223