Abstract
For all too long, RNA never had the essential simplicity we wanted from it. Unlike DNA, the closer we got to it, the more complex it seemed. Initially, we focused on its informational properties, postulating that it carried the genetic information from DNA to the cytoplasmic sites of protein synthesis. It then seemed natural to believe that the main RNA molecules within ribosomes were the templates for the ordering of amino acids during protein synthesis. Quickly, however, this idea was overturned with the discovery first of transfer RNA and then of the true templates, messenger RNA itself. These seminal discoveries had the positive impact of permitting the basic outlines of protein synthesis to be established, as well as permitting the elucidation of the genetic code. At the same time, the dilemma arose of why RNA played so many different roles. In some profound way, the explanation had to lie in...
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