Includes bibliographical references (pages 397-398) and index.

In this textbook the author provides an account of RNA research, illuminated by his own life-long engagement in the field. He describes how scientists unraveled fundamental questions about the biochemical and genetic importance of RNA, how mRNAs are generated and used to produce proteins, how noncoding and catalytic RNAs mediate key cellular processes, and how RNA molecules likely initiated life on Earth. With a scope extending from the early 20th century to the present day, he conveys the intellectual context in which these questions first arose and explains how the key experiments were structured and answers obtained. The book is geared towards scientists from the graduate level on up.

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