Frontiers of Science Lecture The RNA World: Forerunner of Our DNA World? Raymond F. Gesteland / Wed, February 15, 2006 In our modern biological world, all the functions of life are carried out by cells. The core machinery is made of proteins that direct the cell's complex chemistry and behavior by acting as highly specific and precise catalysts. Proteins are synthesized by particular components of the cellular machinery (made mostly of proteins themselves) that take their instructions from DNA, while DNA, in turn, is copied by other components that are also made of proteins. Thus, each kind of primary biological macromolecule (protein and DNA) depends directly on the other for its existence, and cells need both, working together, to grow, divide and function normally. Date: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: Aline Wilmot Skaggs Biology Auditorium, University of Utah campus. 275 South 1430 East (map) Admission: Free and open to the public! Contact Info: (801) 581-6958 jdegooyer@science.utah.edu www.science.utah.edu Frontiers of Science lecture: The RNA World: Forerunner of Our DNA World? This absolute codependence of proteins and DNA in modern life gives rise to a profound chicken-and-egg problem: How could the DNA-and-protein world have evolved, if neither side can exist without the other? In modern cells, RNA plays many key roles. RNA is similar to DNA, and like DNA it can carry genetic information. But it can also fold into complex shapes and act as a catalyst, like proteins. This makes it a candidate for solving the chicken-and-egg problem. Many lines of reasoning and evidence suggest that an RNA world could have supported the gradual evolution of both DNA and proteins. Although this theory may help solve the chicken and egg problem, it does not explain how the RNA world itself might have arisen. Frontiers of Science lecture: The RNA World: Forerunner of Our DNA World? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com