it was awarded for the elucidation of the atomic structure of the ribosome to Venki Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, and Ada Yonath. Relevance for prebiotic chemistry and abiogenesis In 1968, Carl Woese hypothesized that RNA might be catalytic and suggested that the earliest forms of life (self-replicating molecules) could have relied on RNA both to carry genetic information and to catalyze biochemical reactions—an RNA world. In May 2022, scientists reported that they discovered RNA forms spontaneously on prebiotic basalt lava glass which is presumed to have been abundantly available on the early Earth. In March 2015, complex DNA and RNA nucleotides, including uracil, cytosine and thymine, were reportedly formed in the laboratory under outer space conditions, using starter chemicals, such as pyrimidine, an organic compound commonly found in meteorites. Pyrimidine, like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is one of the most carbon-rich compounds found in the Universe and may have been formed in red giants or in interstellar dust and gas clouds. In July 2022, astronomers reported the discovery of massive amounts of prebiotic molecules, including possible RNA precursors, in the Galactic Center of the Milky Way Galaxy. See also Biomolecular structure RNA virus DNA History of RNA Biology List of RNA Biologists RNA Society Macromolecule RNA-based evolution Aptamer RNA origami Transcriptome RNA world hypothesis References External links RNA World website Link collection (structures, sequences, tools, journals) Nucleic Acid Database Images of DNA, RNA and complexes. Anna Marie Pyle's Seminar: RNA Structure, Function, and Recognition RNA splicing Molecular biology Biotechnology Nucleic acids