• Question: Everyone has genes from both parent . Where did the very first gene come from ?

    Asked by Emily to Hummy, Lewis, James, Sandra on 12 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Lewis Wright

      Lewis Wright answered on 12 Mar 2017:

      A good question, and one that there isn’t an answer for currently.

      The molecules and amino acids needed for life occur naturally, so it is possible that the first genes appeared ‘accidentally’ or by sheer chance.
      There are examples of other molecules though that destroy the things that would become genes, so its hard to say.

    • Photo: Sandra Greive

      Sandra Greive answered on 15 Mar 2017:

      A gene is a sequence of code that contains information for something specific (protein or nucleic acid molecules) that is copied and passed on to new generations. The first gene was a a string of ribonucleic acids (RNA, similar to DNA) that could make new copies of itself.

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