- Documents the confused early history of DNA, RNA and proteins - a transformative history of molecular biology like no other.
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- Integrates the influences of biochemistry and genetics on the landscape of molecular biology.
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- Chronicles the important discoveries, preconceptions and misconceptions that retarded or misdirected progress.
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- Highlights major pioneers and contributors to molecular biology, with a focus on RNA and noncoding DNA.
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- Summarizes the mounting evidence for the central roles of non-protein-coding RNA in cell and developmental biology.
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- Provides a thought-provoking retrospective and forward-looking perspective for advanced students and professional researchers.
John Mattick is the Professor of RNA Biology at UNSW Sydney. He obtained his PhD in Biochemistry at Monash University in Melbourne and undertook his postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Most recently he was the Chief Executive of Genomics England, Executive Director of the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, and Director of the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, the Australian Genome Research Facility, the ARC Special Research Centre for Molecular and Cell Biology, and the ARC Special Research Centre for Functional and Applied Genomics at the University of Queensland.
His research interests have been focused for the past three decades on the role of regulatory RNAs in the evolution and development of complex organisms. He pioneered the thesis that the majority of the genome of humans and other complex organisms, previously considered to be 'junk', is devoted to regulatory RNAs that direct the epigenetic trajectories of differentiation and development. He has published over 300 research articles and reviews, which have been cited over 83,000 times. His work has received editorial coverage in Nature, Science, Scientific American, New Scientist and the New York Times. It has also been highlighted in two books: The Deeper Genome by John Parrington and Promoting the Planck Club by Don Braben.
He has received numerous awards including the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Medal, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Bertner Award for Distinguished Contributions to Cancer Research, and the Human Genome Organization Chen Medal for Distinguished Achievement in Human Genetics and Genomic Research. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Royal Society of New South Wales, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering and the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. He is also an Associate Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization.
Paulo Amaral is an Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Insper in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He obtained his MSc in Biochemistry at the Institute of Chemistry, University of Sao Paulo, and PhD in Molecular Genetics at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, University of Queensland, in Brisbane. He undertook his postdoctoral training at the CRUK/Wellcome Trust Gurdon Institute and Milner Therapeutics Institute, University of Cambridge, supported by a Royal Society and British Academy Newton International Fellowship, Corpus Christi College Research Fellowship and Borysiewicz Biomedical Sciences Fellowship.
He has also taught at different institutions as visiting lecturer at both undergraduate and graduate levels, including at the Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University in Sweden, and Humanitas University and Universita Campus Bio-Medico di Roma in Italy. Since 2004, his research has explored the roles of noncoding DNA, regulatory RNAs and RNA modifications in a variety of biological systems, in both academia and industry. He was one of the first to show that noncoding RNAs associate with chromatin and guide chromatin modifications for gene activation, and has been a longstanding student of the history of molecular biology, especially of the overlooked middleman, but almost certainly the key player, RNA.
Title: RNA, the Epicenter of Genetic Information: A new understanding of molecular biology
Author: Mattick, John,Amaral, Paulo
ISBN: 9780367623920
Binding:
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publication Date: 2022-09-20
Number of Pages: 404
Weight: 1.0003 kg
Thrilling and provocative ... There is a need for such a book... There's nothing quite like this out there.
An epic tale of biology's central molecule, RNA.
DNA does only one thing, store information. RNA has a thrilling plethora of functions, including telling DNA what to do.
This book takes the reader on an odyssey through the wonders of RNA and its central role in biology.
DNA science dominated the second half of the 20th Century, but it's clear that the 21st Century belongs to RNA. This long-overdue book reveals the diverse wonders of RNA in a series of thrilling and provocative stories. Tom Cech, Nobel laureate, University of Colorado Boulder
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The book is truly monumental and will be treasured by RNA scientists and others, as well. It beautifully captures the excitement and wonder that I have been lucky to experience working in the RNA field since the early 1960s. Joan Steitz, Yale University
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This book is really disruptive and presents a coherent view of our understanding of biology in terms of the genetic molecules, the nucleic acids, DNA and RNA. It covers an immense territory of molecular biology and its history of discoveries, all presented with a clear-cut intellectual thread.
... It is very timely by its breadth and emphasis on the role of RNA in biology. It makes a strong case for RNA and its late acceptance... the fight uphill, like that of Sisyphus, was tough and demanded a lot of perseverance. It is really rather complete.
Eric Westhof, University of Strasbourg
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The book is unique. It provides the long-overdue correction of the still widespread static views on evolution, development and genome organization and function. It has the potential to induce radical changes in widely held views and attitudes.
Peter Vogt, Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla
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History is the key to our modern understanding of RNA. This magnum opus describes how science, scientific thought and landmark discoveries revealed the central role of RNA in molecular biology and evolution. The authors are not only modern pioneers of RNA science, but also the best histo-RNA-ians of our time.
John Rinn, University of Colorado, Boulder
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RNA, the Epicenter of Genetic Information is much more than what its title might suggest. This epic book by Mattick and Amaral superbly reflects the continuing excitement about RNA research. It is not only a description of our current understanding of the role of RNA in cell and developmental biology but is also a useful history of molecular biology. Each of the eighteen chapters is a brilliantly written semi-autonomous essay on a particular segment of the RNA odyssey. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anybody interested in the biology of RNA, in evolution, and in the organization and function of complex genomes.
Witold Filipowicz, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel
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Those who might think that this book is only for the scientists, think again. It is not. It will appeal in equal measure to the thinking generalist and culturally curious interested in the thrilling history of molecular biology, the wonders of the long-overlooked central molecule RNA and its pivotal role in human development and evolution.
An epic, provocative, and highly original book that highlights the way science is so often sidetracked by preconceptions and hubris, and explores the struggle to understand all that junk DNA we were told we had. The junk is not junk! The answers are all there. A story and a journey not to be missed!
Gabriel Farago (USA TODAY Bestselling author of the Jack Rogan Mysteries Series)
