The RNA world hypothesis posits that molecules made up of ribonucleic acids (RNA) are responsible for kickstarting evolution and all life on Earth – and scientists just discovered a crucial new piece of evidence backing it up. Figuring out how complex life formed from simple chemical building blocks is a daunting challenge that scientists have been grappling with for years. One of the nagging doubts about the RNA world hypothesis has been that RNA molecules capable of copying themselves (and