The Study of RNA now Sits at the very center of contemporary biology. This is a very recent transition. Why did it take so long?<BR><BR>With this question, Jim Darnell sets out to tell the fascinating story of the study of RNA, beginning more than 100 years ago when science first entertained the idea of biological macromolecules. From the perspective of his own distinguished, 50-year career at the forefront of the field, Darnell provides a first-hand personal account of how answers to many of the mysteries of RNA were revealed.<BR><BR>In the first decades of the 20th century, pioneers in biochemistry, organic chemistry, and genetics grappled with the molecular nature of proteins and the roles of genes and chromosomes in heredity. The identification of DNA as genetic material, and the revelation that its structure immediately laid bare its genetic function, initiated a series of momentous advances in the 1950's and 1960's that, as Darnell shows, began to bring RNA out of the shadows: the discovery of transfer RNA and the involvement of ribosomes in protein sythesis; early studies in gene regulation and the discovery of messenger RNA; and finally, the deciphering of the universal genetic code. The field's focus then shifted from prokaryotic cells to cukaryotic cells, leading to the discoveries of RNA processing including splicing, the characterization of RNA polymerases, and the identification of the first transcription factors in eukaryotes. And in the early 1980's, there was the startling realization that RNA molecules could function as catalysts.<BR><BR>In later chapters, Darnell describes the development of our current understanding of transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation and the abundance of proteins, epigenetic modifications, and short and long noncoding RNA's involved. He concludes by discussing current thoughts about the role of RNA in initiating life on Earth and in the evolution of cells.<BR><BR>A Scientist, teacher, and author. Darnell has long been recognized as a giant in RNA research. He was described by the Nobel Prize-winning microbiologists S.E. Luria as "the best thing to come out of Mississippi since William Faulkner." In this book, Darnell brings all of his enthusiansm, wisdom, and experience to the story of how RNA has moved to center stage in our studies of life and in doing so has transformed our understanding of biology.