Re: News: Earth's Original Ancestor Was 'LUCA'

On Dec 21, 8:04=A0am, "Robert Karl Stonjek" <rston...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

"It is only in a subsequent step that LUCA's descendants discovered the m=
ore
thermostable DNA molecule, which they independently acquired (presumably
from viruses), and used to replace the old and fragile RNA vehicle. This
invention allowed them to move away from the small cool microclimate,
evolved and diversify into a variety of sophisticated organisms that coul=
d
tolerate heat," adds Dr. Lartillot.

Woo! The quote from the abstract appears to be:

``Therefore, the two lineages descending from the LUCA and leading to
the
ancestors of Bacteria and Archaea=96Eukaryota convergently adapted to
high temperatures, possibly in response to a climate change of the
early
Earth, and/or aided by the transition from an RNA genome in the LUCA
to organisms with more thermostable DNA genomes''

- http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v456/n7224/full/nature07393.html

It is not clear to me if they have any /actual/ findings on this front
(which
would be extremely hard to imagine) - or whether this is yet another
teaser
designed to get you to buy the paper.

In the latter case, the authors would be sleazeballs.
--
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