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Scientists have uncovered new insights into the protoribosome, a molecular fossil within the ribosome, which plays a key role in the origin of life on Earth.

In a new study, a cross-disciplinary team of scientists from the Charles University and University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, University of Milano, and Institute of Science Tokyo (formerly Tokyo Institute of Technology) have demonstrated how peptides (resembling the most ancient fragments of current ribosomal proteins) contribute to the condensation and stability of the protoribosomal RNA.

This research, published in Nucleic Acids Research, could reshape our understanding of early ribosomal evolution and its significance for the development of life.

Life as we know it relies on the intimate connection among nucleic acids, storing information, proteins, performing countless tasks, and lipids forming surrounding membranes.

"These interactions among molecular precursors started to occur more than 4 billion years ago before the first life emerged," says Dr. Klára Hlouchová from the Charles University, one of the study's lead researchers.

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