Miller-Urey type experiments have shown that simple organic molecules like amino acids can be produced from inorganic material. While this offers a first step in explaining how life came to be, it does not explain how complex life came to be. It is thought that RNA may have played an important role in transitioning from a world without life to a world with cells, particularly because of RNA’s ability to form ribozymes. Why are ribozymes important? Ribozymes are able to build DNA. Ribozymes can be held inside a vesicle. Ribozymes are able to catalyze reactions and replicate themselves. Ribozymes are the simplest macromolecules able to contain genetic information.

Miller-Urey type experiments have shown that simple organic molecules like amino acids can be produced from inorganic material. While this offers a first step in explaining how life came to be, it does not explain how complex life came to be. It is thought that RNA may have played an important role in transitioning from a world without life to a world with cells, particularly because of RNA’s ability to form ribozymes. Why are ribozymes important? Ribozymes are able to build DNA. Ribozymes can be held inside a vesicle. Ribozymes are able to catalyze reactions and replicate themselves. Ribozymes are the simplest macromolecules able to contain genetic information.

Biology Today and Tomorrow without Physiology (MindTap Course List)

5th Edition

ISBN:9781305117396

Author:Cecie Starr, Christine Evers, Lisa Starr

Publisher:Cecie Starr, Christine Evers, Lisa Starr

Chapter6: Dna Structure And Function

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 2DID

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Which of the following are reasons why ribozymes are though to be the first molecules in the original forms of life? a. They can do molecular work b. They can self propagate c. They can create DNA d. Both a. and b. e. Both a. and c.
How did the discovery of ribozymes affect our understanding of the origin of life and the RNA world? A) The discovery of ribozymes demonstrated that enzymes did not have to be proteins, and that RNA can store, transmit, and do biological work as an enzymatic molecule. B) The discovery of ribozymes helped us understand why RNA only stores and transmits biological data, but does not act as an enzymatic molecule. C) The discovery of ribozymes verified that enzymes had to be proteins. This discovery helped to eliminate other theories about the origin of life in RNA world. D) The discovery of ribozymes demonstrated definitively that ribozymes function only as an enzymatic molecule and therefore evolved before information carrier molecules.
Nitrogen fixation is a natural process by which inert or unreactive forms of nitrogen are transformed into usable nitrogen. Why is this process important to life? Given what you have learned about the hydrogen bonding shared between nucleic acids in DNA, which pair is more stable under increasing heat: adenine and thymine, or cytosine and guanine? Explain why. Which of the following is not an organic molecule: methane (CH4), fructose (C6H12O6), rosane (C20H36), or ammonia (NH3)? How do you know?
What did the Miller-Urey experiment demonstrate? A. Life originated in outer space and was brought to Earth on a meteor. B. Complex molecules can be formed from water, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and hydrogen gas in a reducing atmosphere. C. Eukaryotic cells evolved from prokaryotic cells following an endosymbiotic event. D. RNA was the genetic storage merial before DNA.
Because introns are present in all eukaryotes and a few prokaryotes, biologists hypothesize that introns evolved very early in the history of life. If that is true, suggest why the majority of prokaryotes living today lost mostof their introns during the course of evolution.
If nitrogenous bases (A, G, C, T or U) could polymerize to chains of nucleotides, could this eventually form the structure shown in the figure above? Would an RNA structure that can act as an enzyme, such as the one shown above, have been the result of chemical evolution with competition between replicating RNA molecules? Or was it likely the first RNA molecule that arose from a chain of nitrogenous bases could immediately act as an enzyme?
The Miller experiment did not create life, nor did the gases used resemble Earth’s first atmosphere as we presently understand it. The experiment was important because it a. showed that complex organic molecules can form under a variety of circumstances. b. synthesized the carbon atom. c. produced a DNA by-product that eventually leads to RNA and other bases. d. produced RNA, which later formed proteins out of the amino acids. e. synthesized the four bases needed for the production of DNA.
Tetracyclines are a class of prokaryotic antibiotic that ?? A. Consist of lactone rings and target the 50s ribosomal subunit to prevent protein synthesis B. Consist of a napthacene ring and target the 30s ribosomal subunit to prevent protein synthesis C. Consist of aminoglycosides and target folic acid formation D. Consist of a B-lactam ring and prevent transpeptidation during cell wall formation
Define the following terms: a. wobble hypothesis b. aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase c. tRNA d. AUG sequence e. synonymous codon
If RNA played a key role in the origin of life,why do cells now use DNA for information storage and proteins to carry out other cellular processes?
DNA is comprised of only 4 unique nitrogenous bases that code for all variation and all amino acids. If there were 6 unique nitrogenous bases instead of 4, how many would be the minimum number of bases required in each codon if there are only 20 amino acids? Explain how you reached that conclusion.
why is carbon considered the backbone of life?