Life from an RNA world
Subtitle: the ancestor within
By: Michael Yarus
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Cambridge, Mass
Language: eng
Number of pages: 198
ISBN-13: 9780674050754
Description: A majority of evolutionary biologists believe that we now can envision our biological predecessors--not the first, but nearly the first, living beings on Earth. This book is about these vanished forebears. The era between the first rudimentary life on Earth and the appearance of more complex beings is called the RNA world. It is RNA (ribonucleic acid) long believed to be a mere biologic copier and messenger, that offers a glimpse into our ancient predecessors. To describe early RNA creatures, here called "ribocytes" or RNA cells, the author uses basics of molecular biology. He reviews our current understanding of the tree of life, examines the structure of RNA itself, explains the operation of the genetic code, and more. Courting controversy among those who question the role of ribocytes -- citing the chemical fragility of RNA and the uncertainty about the origin of an RNA synthetic apparatus -- he offers a vision of early life on Earth.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Before we begin : a voluntary chapter; title: Framing the problem : the buffalo and the bacterium; title: The big tree : no jackalopes please; title: A dance of atoms; title: Allegro agitato : the origin of life; title: The winds that blow through the starry ways; title: Tornados in a junkyard; title: Between genomes and creatures; title: A thumbnail molecular biology; title: RNA structure : a tape with a shape; title: Intimations of an RNA world; title: The experimentally impaired sciences; title: Test tube RNA evolution : first light; title: Selection amplification : interrogating RNA's possibilities; title: RNA duplication : replicase activity in real RNAs; title: RNA capabilities and the origins of translation; title: The quest for the peptidyl transferase; title: A language much older than hieroglyphics : the genetic code; title: Assume a spherical cow : the ribocyte; title: The future of the RNA world.