Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21250, USA.
J R Soc Interface. 2022 Feb;19(187):20210814. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2021.0814. Epub 2022 Feb 23.
In the mid-twentieth century, multiple Nobel Prizes rewarded discoveries of a seemingly universal set of molecules and interactions that collectively defined the chemical basis for life. Twenty-first-century science knows that every detail of this Central Dogma of Molecular Biology can vary through either biological evolution, human engineering (synthetic biology) or both. Clearly the material, molecular basis of replicating, evolving entities can be different. There is far less clarity yet for what constitutes this set of possibilities. One approach to better understand the limits and scope of moving beyond life's central dogma comes from those who study life's origins. RNA, proteins and the genetic code that binds them each look like products of natural selection. This raises the question of what step(s) preceded these particular components? Answers here will clarify whether any discrete point in time or biochemical evolution will objectively merit the label of life's origin, or whether life unfolds seamlessly from the non-living universe.
在 20 世纪中期，多项诺贝尔奖奖励了对一组看似普遍的分子和相互作用的发现，这些发现共同定义了生命的化学基础。21 世纪的科学知道，分子生物学中心法则的每一个细节都可以通过生物进化、人类工程（合成生物学）或两者的结合来改变。显然，复制、进化实体的物质、分子基础可以是不同的。然而，对于构成这组可能性的内容，目前还远不清楚。一种更好地理解超越生命中心法则的限制和范围的方法来自那些研究生命起源的人。RNA、蛋白质和它们结合的遗传密码看起来都像是自然选择的产物。这就提出了这样一个问题：在这些特定的成分之前，有哪些步骤？这里的答案将澄清，任何特定的时间点或生化进化是否会客观地值得生命起源的标签，或者生命是否从非生命的宇宙中无缝展开。
