Scientists Develop First Examples Of RNA That Replicates Itself Indefinitely

But one prominent theory about the origins of life, called the RNA World model, postulates that because RNA can function as both a gene and an enzyme, RNA might have come before DNA and protein and acted as the ancestral molecule of life.

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/172679-Scientists-Develop-First-Examples-Of-RNA-That-Replicates-Itself-Indefinitely

"This is the only case outside biology where molecular information has been immortalized," says Joyce.