There Are Several Hypotheses Considered for the Pathway to Life

question 73

Multiple Choice

There are several hypotheses considered for the pathway to life. The "metabolism (chemical changes) first" pathway has an advantage over the "replicator first" hypothesis in that

• A) it can explain why polymers of nucleic acids are not detected in the prebiotic model systems.
• B) it avoids the problem that DNA is not self-catalytic.
• C) RNA does not have to possess catalytic activity.
• D) metabolism could not provide the energy needed for RNA synthesis.
• E) RNA synthesis is a spontaneous reaction.

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