Life's Catalyst: RNA with Thomas Cech [Ep. 423]

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Brian Keating

Science, Physics, Natural Sciences

4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 4 June 2024

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Join my mailing list https://briankeating.com/list to win a real 4 billion year old meteorite! All .edu emails in the USA 🇺🇸 will WIN! How did life begin? What makes us human? Why do we get sick and grow old? For more than half a century, we've searched for answers to these questions in DNA. But after a series of groundbreaking discoveries, attention has turned to RNA, the long-overlooked molecule that is now at the heart of biology's greatest mysteries. Here today, to shed light on this topic, is none other than the Nobel laureate Thomas Cech. Thomas shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Sidney Altman for their discovery of the catalytic properties of RNA. He discovered that RNA could cut strands of RNA itself, suggesting that life might have started as RNA, and found that RNA can not only transmit instructions but also speed up the necessary reactions. His upcoming book, The Catalyst, promises to bring years of pioneering research to the forefront, demonstrating how RNA holds the key to understanding life on Earth—from its very origins to our future. Join us as we explore the most transformative breakthroughs in biology and beyond on this episode of Into the Impossible! Key Takeaways: 00:00 Intro 01:17 What is life? 02:05 Judging a book by its cover 05:44 Does profit drive innovation? 10:51 The RNA breakthrough 14:40 Is DNA a one-trick pony? 24:54 Panspermia, DNA and RNA 29:25 RNA’s role in the end of life 37:01 CRISPR 42:09 Are DNA and RNA the only two informational molecules? 46:57 The future of education 51:38 The greatest thing humans have ever done 53:08 What Thomas has been wrong about 54:22 Outro — Additional resources: 📝 Get one month of Snipd Premium for free with this link: https://get.snipd.com/Cx7S/brianSnipd Snipd lets you take Smart Notes 🧠 with AI 💡 — it’s my favorite podcast player 😀 ! ➡️ Learn more about Thomas Cech: 💻 Nobel Prize: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1989/cech/facts/ 📚 Get The Catalyst on Amazon: https://a.co/d/9oaErgg ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list ✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/ 🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known. Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	How did life begin? What makes us human? Why do we get sick, grow old, and eventually die?
0:06.4	For more than half a century we search for answers to these questions in DNA.
0:10.4	But after a series of groundbreaking discoveries, attention turned to a more miraculous molecule.
0:17.0	RNA, the long overshadowed molecule that is now at the heart of biology's greatest revolutions here today to
0:26.3	shed light on the secrets of life and unveil the RNA age is none other than the
0:32.0	Nobel Laureate Thomas Chek.
0:33.6	Tom shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in chemistry
0:37.2	with Sidney Altman for the discovery
0:38.9	of the catalytic properties of RNA.
0:41.7	His new book, Out Today the catalyst promises to bring years of pioneering research
0:46.8	to the forefront, demonstrating how RNA holds the key to understanding life on Earth from its
0:51.8	very origins to our future.
0:54.0	Join us as we explore the most transformative breakthroughs in biology and beyond on this
0:59.2	impossibly lifelike episode of Into the Impossible. Let's go. efficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
1:14.0	Open the pod bay doors.
1:17.0	What is life?
1:19.0	So life is reproduction and evolution.
1:24.2	In order to be a living being,
1:25.8	you have to go from one generation to the next.
1:29.6	But if you do that perfectly, if you just transfer information without any alteration,
1:38.0	then you can never evolve beyond the most simple and primordial of organisms.
1:45.0	So you have to have some mutation in there.
	...

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