title: The origin of life and the last universal common ancestor: do we need a change of perspective?
abstract: A complete tree with roots, trunk and crown remains an appropriate model to represent all steps of life's development, from the emergence of a unique genetic code up to the last universal common ancestor and its further radiation. Catalytic closure of a mixture of prebiotic polymers is a heuristic alternative to the RNA world. Conjectures about emergence of life in an infinite multiverse should not confuse probability with possibility.
authors.affiliation: JM Wiame Research Institute for Microbiology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1 ave E. Gryzon, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium. nglansdo@vub.ac.be
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Glansdorff
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Labedan
mesh_terms: D019418:Evolution, Chemical; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005815:Genetic Code; D008954:Models, Biological; D000069497:Origin of Life; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D012313:RNA