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Science Magazine's Highlight Of 2002

Posted by timothy on from the year-end-punditry-continues dept.

gingerTabs writes "BBC News is reporting that the 2002 Science Magazine highlight of 2002 is the discovery of the small RNA molecule. Whould've thunk it, eh?"

3 of 102 comments (clear)

  1. Re:AIDS by The-Perl-CD-Bookshel · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Or it could complicate things because it is found that RNA is so much more important than we ever thought it was.

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    I don't keep a lid on my coffee so when I walk around I look busy -me
  2. Re:AIDS by stevejsmith · · Score: 3, Insightful

    That's like saying that the discovery of the atom has brought us closer to finding a cure for AIDS. Sure, it has obviously, but almost every damn cell has RNA in it. The rRNA and the mRNA transcript the DNA and send it to another cell to be replicated. So of course HIV has RNA to carry the message, everything does! There were/are far more important advances stemming from the discovery of RNA than HIV/AIDS.

  3. Re:Protein production control... by Tailhook · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It doesn't surprise me to learn that some of the so-called "junk DNA" actually has a purpose. I've always thought it highly naive to brush off sequences whose function is not immediately obvious as "junk".

    Someone else points out:

    Not all the junk DNA does this, just the introns near the centrosome.

    Ah, yes. Presume that because not "all" of the "junk DNA" "does this", it must still be junk. Don't consider that perhaps the real effects of the "junk DNA" might simply be beyond your understanding. That might lead to discovery.

    I get the feeling cell/protien/gene/DNA research is going to continue something like this; every now and then the people who leave the blinders at home next to the TV remote are going to question the presumption that some of the remaining mysterious "junk" has no value. Each time they discover the real meaning of the unknown sequences, our knowledge of how life really works will leap forward. In the end, we'll find that very little or none of DNA is actually junk. We'll look back on our predecessor's unimaginable ignorance and wonder how they could have every been so willfully naive. We'll apologize for them, and then proceed to commit exactly the same error in another field.

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    Maw! Fire up the karma burner!