Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
THE SECRETS OF LIFE: A MATHEMATICIAN'S INTRODUCTION TO MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 1 Chapter 1â The Secrets of Life: A Mathematician's Introduction to Molecular Biology Eric S. Lander Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Michael S. Waterman University of Southern California Molecular biology has emerged from the synthesis of two complementary approaches to the study of lifeâbiochemistry and geneticsâto become one of the most exciting and vibrant scientific fields at the end of the twentieth century. This introductory chapter provides a brief history of the intellectual foundations of modern molecular biology and defines key terms and concepts that recur throughout the subsequent chapters. The concepts of molecular biology have become household words. DNA, RNA, and enzymes are routinely discussed in newspaper stories, prime-time television shows, and business weeklies. The passage into popular culture is complete only 40 years after the discovery of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) by James Watson and Francis Crick and only 20 years after the first steps toward genetic engineering. With breathtaking speed, these basic scientific discoveries have led to astonishing scientific and practical implications: the fundamental biochemical processes of life have been laid bare. The evolutionary record of life can be read from DNA sequences. Genes for proteins such as human insulin can be inserted into bacteria, which then can inexpensively produce large and pure amounts of the protein. Farm animals and crops can be engineered to produce healthier and more
