The Catalyst
RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life's Deepest Secrets
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
One of Literary Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2024
“Lively and entertaining.… Biology will never be the same.” —Adrian Woolfson, Wall Street Journal
Exploring the most transformative breakthroughs in biology since the discovery of the double helix, a Nobel Prize–winning scientist unveils the RNA age.
For over half a century, DNA has dominated science and the popular imagination as the “secret of life.” But over the last several decades, a quiet revolution has taken place. In a series of breathtaking discoveries, the biochemist Thomas R. Cech and a diverse cast of brilliant scientists have revealed that RNA—long overlooked as the passive servant of DNA—sits at the center of biology’s greatest mysteries: How did life begin? What makes us human? Why do we get sick and grow old? In The Catalyst, Cech finally brings together years of research to demonstrate that RNA is the true key to understanding life on Earth, from its very origins to our future in the twenty-first century.
A gripping journey of discovery, The Catalyst moves from the early experiments that first hinted at RNA’s spectacular powers, to Cech’s own paradigm-shifting finding that it can catalyze cellular reactions, to the cutting-edge biotechnologies poised to reshape our health. We learn how RNA—once thought merely to transmit DNA’s genetic instructions to the cell’s protein-making machinery—may have jump-started life itself, and how, at the same time, it can cut our individual lives short through viral diseases and cancer. We see how RNA is implicated in the aging process and explore the darker depths of the supposed fountain of youth, telomerase. And we catch a thrilling glimpse into how RNA-powered therapies—from CRISPR, the revolutionary tool that uses RNA to rewrite the code of life, to the groundbreaking mRNA vaccines that have saved millions during the pandemic, and more—may enable us to improve and even extend life beyond nature’s current limits.
Written by one of our foremost scientists, The Catalyst is a must-read guide to the present and future of biology and medicine.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nobel Prize–winning biochemist Cech debuts with an entrancing primer on "the vast capabilities of RNA." Recounting how his research in the early 1980s upended the long-held belief that RNA was a simple molecule that intermediated between DNA and proteins, Cech describes discovering that RNA can catalyze biochemical reactions and perform jobs previously thought to be the exclusive purview of enzymes, such as orchestrating the construction of proteins. The author also delves into subsequent breakthroughs, telling how in the late '80s molecular biologist Carol Greider determined that RNA build out "chromosome ends to secure the integrity of the genome." Surveying the real-world implications of the research, Cech discusses the scientific advances that led to the development of the messenger RNA Covid vaccines and speculates on how a form of RNA capable of shutting down genes may one day help treat neurodegenerative diseases. The biological discussions are remarkably lucid, thanks to easy-to-understand analogies. For instance, Cech illustrates how RNA's selective omission of genetic information during protein production makes it possible to create a "wide repertoire of potential proteins from the same set of genes" by noting how "You really smell nice today" and "You really smell today" use the same building blocks yet generate opposite meanings based on the exclusion of one piece. This fascinates.
