Understanding the Seemingly Impossible: A Revolution in Biology

Harvard FAS

Occasionally a scientific discovery is so unexpected that it is seemingly unexplainable. This seminar will revisit one such event, the discovery of RNA interference and how modern experimental molecular genetics cracked this problem and started a billion-dollar industry. Rare, unexpected discoveries in biology, for example catalytic RNAs, instantly extend and broaden our understanding of the world, while the impact of other discoveries (split genes, hopping genes) are more…