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java-manyesterday at 11:48 PM1 replyview on HN

2009 paper: Self-sustained replication of an RNA enzyme [0].

[0] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19131595/


Replies

rcyehtoday at 12:54 AM

Amazing! The 2009 Lincoln & Joyce paper you cited catalyzes one bond per hour on average. (Doubling time = 1 hour, but only one bond between oligonucleotides needed to double.)

OP's Gianni et al 2026 paper connects 45 nucleotides, taking 72 days (1700 hours) to yield 0.2%.

The latter effort is like drawing the whole owl.

That is incredible patience. Without access to the full article, I read only the abstract. I wonder if they used simulations to narrow the candidates?

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