A fundamental property of life is the ability to replicate itself. Researchers have now created the first molecules of RNA, DNA’s singled-stranded relative, that are capable of copying almost any other RNAs. The discovery bolsters the widely held view among researchers who study the origin of life that RNA likely preceded DNA as the central genetic storehouse of information in the earliest cells some 4 billion years ago. Ironically, the new RNA copiers still can’t duplicate themselves. But if future souped-up versions can pull that off, it could do more than reinforce notions of RNA’s primordial role—it could lead to the creation of the synthetic modern microbes that use RNA as their sole source of genetic information.