The RNA world resembled a molecular wild west — unstable, recombining, and lineage-blurred. Replicators drifted, collided, and competed. When chemistry favored a structure that copied more efficiently or resisted degradation, that structure persisted. Before cells, before species, evolution was already experimenting.

Following the appearance of self-replicating molecules, the RNA world hypothesis suggests a period where RNA served both as genetic material and as a catalyst for chemical reactions. This phase emphasizes the central role of RNA in early life forms, prior to the evolution of DNA and proteins. The RNA world could be considered both a precursor and a part of the early stages of life, highlighting RNA’s versatility and its significance in the origin of life.

Survivors: None survive today, but ribozymes are insterestingly related. Within the cells of all modern organisms, there are molecules called ribozymes, which are RNA molecules capable of catalyzing specific biochemical reactions, including the replication of RNA in some cases. Ribozymes are considered molecular fossils of the RNA world, providing a direct link to the era when self-replicating RNA molecules could have been the basis of life.