Ribosomal RNA

But the advent of genomic sequencing launched taxonomy into the 21st century.

Today, scientists can quantify the evolutionary relatedness of two organisms directly from the sequence of letters in their DNA, RNA, and a few proteins.

No squinting or sniffing required.

Over the last 25 years, genomic methods have revealed that the tree of life is weirder and more tangled than ever imagined.

Like a molecular 3D printer, the ribosome takes in genetic instructions and raw amino acids to build proteins.

Woese focused on the ribosome for two reasons.

First, it was found in all forms of life, and second, its mixture of protein and structural RNA parts suggested that it was very ancient.

Woese settled on a component of bacterial ribosomes called the 16S ribosomal RNA, or rRNA.

the first employees in the history of life for the first time life discovers a lesson it won't forget cooperation beats doing everything alone but there's a problem you're storing information and doing chemistry at the same time you're the ceo accountant janitor salesperson and product all at once it's exhausting so eventually a more stable molecule appears Thank you.

carrying instructions, tRNA, transfer RNA, or ARTINA, delivering supplies, rRNA, ribosomal RNA, or RIC, running the construction site.

The workers have arrived.

The factory is open.