RNA droplets may have accelerated prebiotic Earth's development of complex molecules

The origin of life from Earth's primordial chemistry has long fascinated and perplexed us. Generations of scientists have endeavored to understand how complex biochemistry developed from organic compounds. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have recently found that the conditions inside certain, naturally forming droplets promote reduction and oxidation (redox) reactions, which are crucial for life. The results support the idea that these droplets could have acted as proto-enzymes, enabling the formation of more complicated organic molecules.