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Origin of Life: RNA World Versus Autocatalytic Anabolist

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Abstract

Two theories on the origin of life are characterized and compared: (1) Origin by RNA replication in a cold prebiotic broth of activated nucleotides (RNA world theory) and (2) origin by transition of metal-catalyzed carbon fixation, with ligand acceleration by organic products, in a hot volcanic-hydrothermal flow setting (autocatalytic anabolist theory).

Keywords

Thioglycolic Acid Anionic Intermediate Transition Metal Center Genetic Machinery Benzyl Mercaptan 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

I express my gratitude to Claudia Huber for dedicated and ingenious experimental testing of the anabolist theory, to Helmut Simon, Adelbert Bacher and Mathias Groll for providing laboratory facilities and support, to Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for financial support, to Otto Kandler, the great catalyst without whom none of this would have come about, and to Dorothy Wächtershäuser for years of encouragement and help in formulating this and other papers.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.MunichGermany
  2. 2.Chapel HillUSA

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