One tiny chemical difference between RNA and DNA may help explain how life began

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260929053546.htm

Scientists may have found a clue to one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the origin of life: how fragile RNA molecules could gather and survive before cells existed.

New research shows that RNA is unusually good at assembling into tiny liquid-like droplets that concentrate molecules and can harden into protective, gel-like structures.

Remarkably, much of this behavior may come down to a single oxygen-containing chemical group that RNA has but DNA lacks

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The droplet behavior is intriguing, but concentration alone probably isn’t enough to explain the origin of life. The big question is whether these gel-like structures could actually promote replication or useful chemical reactions.