_Nature 382_ n.6589, July 25, page 373:
"RNA-catalysed RNA polymerization using nucleoside triphosphates."
A sentence from the abstract reads, "We describe here an RNA that synthesizes
RNA using the same reaction as that employed by protein enzymes that catalyse
RNA polymerization." The article was too technical for me to get much
out of it; if anyone else understands it I'd appreciate a summary.
_Nature 382_ n.6591, August 8, page 525:
"A self-replicating peptide"
The title is a bit of an overstatement. The authors found a 32-amino-acid
peptide which catalyses its own synthesis from a neutral, dilute solution
of 15- and 17-amino-acid fragments. (There's a non-technical summary and
"perspective" piece by Stuart Kauffman on page 496.)
Nice work, good articles.
(No doubt these have already been used on talk.origins to support both
the claim that abiogenesis is inevitable, and the claim that abiogenesis
is impossible.)
Loren Haarsma