Can you provide a brief discussion of current theories of the evolution of RNA/DNA in the precellular world?
It is believed that life emerged when complexes of organic molecules in particular geological settings became organized into self-replicating consortia (that may or may not have already acquired a cell membrane). The problem of the origin of life, or as I like to view it, the transition from geochemistry to biochemistry is a real challenge. However, a number of circumstantial lines of evidence have been converging on a convincing, if speculative, scenario. It is known that organic molecules accumulate spontaneously in sea-water that contains carbon dioxide, other dissolved gases, and minerals. These would be most stable deep in the ocean where they would not be broken down by light, and would tend to become concentrated on mineral surfaces that were appropriately charged. In such settings, theory allows that assemblages of organic molecules would begin using energy (obtained from inorganic chemical reactions) to build yet more organic matter. Eventually some collections of organic mole
