Overview

• A Nature paper reports that pantetheine-derived thioesters activated amino acids at neutral pH, enabling their transfer onto RNA.
• Once loaded onto RNA, the amino acids linked to form short peptides in aqueous conditions.
• The work connects the RNA world and thioester world hypotheses by tying metabolism-like energy chemistry to genetic polymers.
• The team argues the reactions are most plausible in concentrated freshwater pools, not the open ocean, due to dilution constraints.
• Analyses using NMR and mass spectrometry confirmed aminoacylation and peptide formation, with next priorities including sequence specificity.