Who discovered ribonucleic acid in 1868?
Friedrich Miescher isolated ribonucleic acid in 1868 while studying the nuclei of white blood cells. He initially named the substance nuclein before it was identified as ribonucleic acid.
Common questions about RNA
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When did Thomas Cech and Sidney Altman discover RNA catalytic activity?
Thomas Cech and Sidney Altman discovered that RNA could act as a catalyst in the early 1980s. Their findings showed that RNA molecules could fold into complex three-dimensional shapes to perform chemical reactions.
What is the chemical difference between RNA and DNA regarding the 2' position?
RNA contains a ribose sugar with a hydroxyl group at the 2' position, whereas DNA lacks this feature. This addition of an oxygen atom makes RNA chemically labile and prone to breaking down compared to DNA.
Who won the Nobel Prize in 2009 for ribosome structure research?
Venki Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, and Ada Yonath won the Nobel Prize in 2009 for determining the structure of the ribosome. Their work revealed that the active site of the ribosome is composed entirely of RNA.
When was RNA interference discovered by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello?
Andrew Fire and Craig Mello discovered RNA interference in 1993. They found that specific short RNA molecules could pair with messenger RNA to target them for degradation or block their translation.
When did scientists discover RNA formation on prebiotic basalt lava glass?
Scientists discovered that RNA can form spontaneously on prebiotic basalt lava glass in May 2022. This finding provided a plausible mechanism for how RNA could have originated on the early Earth.