有人提出,生命最初是以自催化的化学网络产生的。.<ref>Kauffman, Stuart (1993). The Origins of Order: Self-Organization and Selection in Evolution. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507951-7. LCCN 91011148. OCLC 23253930.</ref> 英国伦理学家理查德·道金斯 Richard Dawkins在2004年出版的《祖先的故事 The Ancestor's Tale》一书中写道,自催化是生命起源的一种可能的解释。<ref>Dawkins, Richard (2004). The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-618-00583-3. LCCN 2004059864. OCLC 56617123.</ref>在书中,Dawkins引用了朱利叶斯·雷贝克 Julius Rebek和他的同事所做的实验,他们将氨基腺苷和五氟苯基酯与自催化剂氨基腺苷三酸酯(AATE)相结合。其中一种产物是AATE的变体,它能催化自身的合成。这一实验表明,自催化剂有可能在具有遗传性的实体种群中表现出竞争,这可以被解释为自然选择的一种基本形式。<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tjivikua |first1=T. |last2=Ballester |first2=Pablo |last3=Rebek |first3=Julius Jr. |date=January 1990 |title=Self-replicating system |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society|volume=112 |issue=3 |pages=1249–1250 |doi=10.1021/ja00159a057 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Browne |first=Malcolm W. |date=30 October 1990 |title=Chemists Make Molecule With Hint of Life |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/30/science/chemists-make-molecule-with-hint-of-life.html |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York |accessdate=2015-07-14 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721135740/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/30/science/chemists-make-molecule-with-hint-of-life.html |archivedate=21 July 2015}}</ref> | 有人提出,生命最初是以自催化的化学网络产生的。.<ref>Kauffman, Stuart (1993). The Origins of Order: Self-Organization and Selection in Evolution. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507951-7. LCCN 91011148. OCLC 23253930.</ref> 英国伦理学家理查德·道金斯 Richard Dawkins在2004年出版的《祖先的故事 The Ancestor's Tale》一书中写道,自催化是生命起源的一种可能的解释。<ref>Dawkins, Richard (2004). The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-618-00583-3. LCCN 2004059864. OCLC 56617123.</ref>在书中,Dawkins引用了朱利叶斯·雷贝克 Julius Rebek和他的同事所做的实验,他们将氨基腺苷和五氟苯基酯与自催化剂氨基腺苷三酸酯(AATE)相结合。其中一种产物是AATE的变体,它能催化自身的合成。这一实验表明,自催化剂有可能在具有遗传性的实体种群中表现出竞争,这可以被解释为自然选择的一种基本形式。<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tjivikua |first1=T. |last2=Ballester |first2=Pablo |last3=Rebek |first3=Julius Jr. |date=January 1990 |title=Self-replicating system |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society|volume=112 |issue=3 |pages=1249–1250 |doi=10.1021/ja00159a057 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Browne |first=Malcolm W. |date=30 October 1990 |title=Chemists Make Molecule With Hint of Life |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/30/science/chemists-make-molecule-with-hint-of-life.html |newspaper=The New York Times |location=New York |accessdate=2015-07-14 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721135740/http://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/30/science/chemists-make-molecule-with-hint-of-life.html |archivedate=21 July 2015}}</ref> |