In the 1800s, a popular belief known as vitalism stated that life processes could not be explained by the laws of physics and chemistry,and were instead dictated by an independent life force. Which discovery most likely caused scientists to revise this hypothesis regarding the origin of life on Earth?

a. that inorganic compounds existed within live organisms
b. that organic compounds could be synthesized in a laboratory
c. that RNA could serve as a template to synthesize DNA
d. that self-replicating molecules existed inside cells