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How did life begin on Earth? Scientists believe in the RNA World idea. This idea says early life used RNA first. RNA is a special molecule. It stores instructions like DNA. It also helps chemical reactions happen. One molecule did two jobs at once.
Life needed RNA to copy itself. Scientists found tools called ribozymes. But none could copy their whole self before now. A team found a very short ribozyme. It is only 45 blocks long. Most ribozymes were too long. They were hard to form on early Earth. The team made many random RNA strings. They tested billions of unique molecules.
After many tests, they found a winner. They named it QT-45. It can join pieces of RNA. It works well even though it is tiny. The ribozyme is very stable. It lasts for over 100 days. It can copy many different strands. The most important test was copying itself. It made a copy of its own sequence. This took months to happen. The copying was 95 percent accurate. Small errors help life evolve over time.
QT-45 uses three-block pieces. Modern tools add bases one by one. Using pre-made blocks was likely easier on early Earth. Short pieces were common in the ancient soup. The ribozyme probably cannot open double strands alone. It waits for strands to open on their own. Then it joins the new pieces together. This study was published in Science in 2026. It shows self-copying RNA was not rare. Many similar molecules might have existed. This finding makes the start of life likely. It was a natural chemical event.