Question 1: Peptide nucleic acids and the origin and homochirality of life.

The possibilities of pseudo peptide DNA mimics like PNA (peptide nucleic acid) having a role for the prebiotic origin of life prior to an RNA world is discussed. In particular a scenario is proposed in which protocells with an achiral genetic material through several generations stepwise is converted into a chiral genetic material, e.g., by incorporation of RNA units. Provided that a sufficiently large sequence space is occupied, a selection process based on catalytic function in which a single cell (first common ancestor) has a definite evolutionary advantage, selection of this cell would by contingency also lock it into homochirality.