The Origin of Life

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Presenter: John Maynard Smith

Published: March 2009

Age: 14-19 and upwards

Views: 1258 views

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Type: Lectures

Source/institution: Vega


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In modern organisms, there is a division of labour between two kinds of molecule: DNA, which stores and transmits genetic information, and proteins, which do all the work. They are connected by the ‘genetic code’, whereby DNA specifies what kinds of proteins can be made. This process of translation is well understood, but it is far too complicated to have arisen by chance in the primitive oceans. How can this apparent paradox be resolved?

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