Chemical evolution of self-replicating molecules observed in a lab

n0w4k writes: Researchers at the University of Groningen have developed a self-replicating system, able to not only pass hereditary information from one generation to another but also mutate (non-paywalled link to the paper). It is a crucial step towards Darwinian evolution of abiotic species and artificial life. According to the authors and perhaps somewhat counterintuitively, in order to fully reach this goal a death mechanism needs to be implemented in the system. Otherwise new species can only form but not disappear.

Self-replicating chemical systems have been widely studied before; some were even able to mutate. However, this discovery provides the first example of mutating replicators which are fully artificial.

Full disclosure: I am one of the co-authors; you can ask me if you have some specific questions or give suggestions — maybe they can be implemented in the lab!