In our lab we emulate the environment that gave rise to the polymers of life and harness the creative power of chemical evolution towards development of evolvable functional polymers in the laboratory. By changing the parameters that dictate the generation of these polymers we create a rich library of much needed functional polymers. Overall, our goals are to chemically evolve functional polymers through non-enzymatic processes, and to advance our knowledge in analysis and taming of complex chemical systems. For example, we generate, evolve and select novel functional polymers that are designed to degrade in living organisms, and that specifically bind to and stabilize nucleic acids. Development of biodegradable polymers that bind and stabilize nucleic acids for various pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications is of high importance, e.g for RNA-based therapeutics.