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The emergence of complex biological molecules, long before the first cells, is one of the most mysterious chapters in the origins of life story. One popular theory suggests that RNA—the more active, single stranded version of DNA—came on the scene first, making copies of itself and building the first proteins. But new research, which appears this week in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, refutes the idea that RNA alone jumpstarted life. Rather, RNA and peptides, the amino acid chains that build proteins, probably co-created each other.

Radical Collaboration

Everyone at the d.school loops through cycles of learning, teaching and doing. Our culture of collaboration means we move quickly beyond obvious ideas. We help each other even if it’s inconvenient. We ask for inspiration when stuck. We play. And we defer judgment long enough to build on each other’s ideas.