IRMACS: The Interdisciplinary Colloquium: "Von Neumann, RNA and the challenges inherent in building and understanding self-replicating machines"

Abstract

Life and its origins poses one of the most enduring scientific puzzles faced by mankind. Modern and ancient life are enormously complex, but intriguingly a single nucleic acid polymer called RNA appears increasingly important for both. My laboratory has been studying the self replication potential inherent in RNA as well as its role in regulating the processes of modern life. I will discuss aspects of this work as well as the development of new tools for the study of RNA.