Subsequent work by Szostak has shown that ribozymes can catalyze template-directed ligation reactions that might, in principle, permit RNA replication. Recently, Noller has provided evidence suggesting that ribosomal RNA, without the help of proteins, can catalyze the peptide bond-forming step of protein synthesis. These experiments support the hypothesis that a biochemistry based on RNA alone preceded the familiar biochemistry based on nucleic acids and proteins.
Francis H. C. Crick
http://www.fasebj.org/cgi/reprint/7/1/238.pdf
“These experiments support the hypothesis that a biochemistry based on RNA alone preceded the familiar biochemistry based on nucleic acids and proteins.”
In that the only difference between DNA & RNA is that the backbone sugars (Ribose)is only different than the sugar deoxyribose of DNA in that it (deoxyribose) is missing an oxygen at the 2’ position and that the nitrogenous base Uracil is substitued for Thymine found in DNA. That doesn’t surprise me at all.
However, the original questions was about the zapped methane, hydrogen, and ammonia in the old experiment in the 50s that produced amino acids.