Another Demonstration Life’s Origin Required an Intelligent Agent

Researchers from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, England, recently claimed to have discovered a 45-nucleotide RNA polymerase capable of replicating itself with high accuracy. Gianni et al. (2026) reported their findings in a Science article, “A small polymerase ribozyme that can synthesize itself and its complementary strand.” UK Research and Innovation recently posted its own piece, “Scientists’ chemical breakthrough sheds light on origins of life,” which quotes lead author Edoardo Gianni promoting his team’s accomplishment:

By identifying a small RNA, it makes the whole idea that self-replicating RNA emerged spontaneously much more likely, and thanks to its size, it managed to copy all of itself and its template — unlike previous work where only small parts were copied.

However, organic chemist James Tour and biomedical scientist Rob Stadler dismantled claims like this in a podcast last year by demonstrating that, in every case, the featured RNA’s origin and performance depend on extensive intervention by the investigators:

The new study does not support the credibility of the RNA World hypothesis; instead, it further demonstrates its implausibility.

Origin of QT45

The investigators demonstrated great ingenuity in creating the RNA molecule QT45, which can link activated trinucleotides (3-nucleotide chains with additional phosphates to facilitate linking) using a template strand as a guide. The name is based on the RNA being “quite tiny,” only 45 nucleotides. In contrast, most RNA polymerases are over 150 nucleotides. The smaller size reflects the fact that adding three nucleotides at a time to a growing chain is far easier than adding only one, since a triplet bonds more easily and securely to the template.

Engineering the RNA replicator required several steps:

1. Generating trillions of RNA molecules with random sequences using advanced laboratory techniques.
2. Applying 11 rounds of mutation and selection to yield a few RNA motifs capable of linking a trinucleotide to a growing chain.  
3. Applying 7 rounds of selection to improve performance.

In their podcast, Tour and Stadler explain why an RNA even remotely similar to QT45 could never have formed on the early Earth. A single nucleotide consists of a ribose sugar, one of four bases that distinguish the four nucleotides (A, C, G, and U), and a phosphate. The reactions that produce the sugar and the bases also produce many other molecules. In addition, the three components must be joined at the correct positions. The chance of multiple nucleotides forming in the same location and linking together properly is exceedingly small (here, here, here), since each nucleotide would far more easily bond to other molecules.

If one in a million molecules were an activated nucleotide — a fantastically optimistic estimate — the probability that an RNA would form of length ten is less than one chance in a million times itself ten times, which is one chance in 10⁶⁰ (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000). That many molecules the size of a 10-nucleotide RNA could never have formed naturally in the entire history of the Earth. The chance that a 45-nucleotide RNA formed on the early Earth is essentially zero.

In addition, the number of rounds of selection required before a highly functional self-copying RNA emerged indicates that the probability that a random sequence performing that function at a sustainable rate and accuracy is exceedingly low. Even if aliens deposited many tons of randomly sequenced nucleotide chains on the early Earth, the likelihood of even one capable of self-copying appearing near the staging ground of a protocell is infinitesimal.  

Assisted Self-Replication

Tour and Stadler also detail how the experimental protocol required to support replication requires exquisite precision. This experiment, and related ones, are irrelevant to the origin of life for the following reasons:

• The study used activated three-nucleotide chains, which would have been exceedingly rare. The concentrations required to support replication were many orders of magnitude higher than what could have occurred naturally.
• Maintaining replication requires trillions of copies of self-copying RNA per milliliter of water. Yet even one emerging is implausible.
• Initiating replication also requires a primer. The experiment used trillions of copies of a 10-nucleotide primer to initiate transcription (the synthesis of the complementary strand of the template). Not even one would likely have ever existed.
• The experiment first used QT45 to transcribe its complementary strand. This step required adding a precise concentration of magnesium ions so that many QT45 molecules would be folded and remain functional, while others would remain unfolded, serving as templates for transcription. The investigators cooled the system to -7 degrees Celsius at a precise pH for 28 days, enabling transcription.
• They then adjusted the experimental conditions to enable QT45 to transcribe the complementary strand, thereby generating more copies of QT45. This step required different experimental conditions, including lower pH, lower magnesium ion concentration, lower template concentration, and the addition of a 6-nucleotide chain. In addition, the system was heated to a much higher temperature, and the pH was lowered to facilitate strand separation.
• Several reagents were added to assist the transcription process, including a surfactant and a pH buffer, which do not exist in nature.

Such highly specific conditions and highly orchestrated steps do not resemble any environmental conditions that could have ever existed.

The Need for Candor

The researchers know that their experiment does not resemble realistic conditions on the early Earth. Yet they hope that it at least provides clues about similar processes that might have occurred. They assume that life originated solely through naturally occurring physical and chemical processes, so their approach is reasonable, given their philosophical commitments. However, they should present their research to the public with much greater candor. They should also recognize that anyone open to the possibility of design would see their research as yet another demonstration of the necessity of an intelligent agent in life’s origin.