The highlights of a year when microorganisms have proved more productive than ever for studying the genetic apparatus of cells have been the isolation and synthesis of DNA genes and the sequencing of RNA phage genes. First steps have been taken towards characterizing the enzymes which synthesize DNA and degrade RNA in bacterial cells. Protein synthesis in mammals is initiated in a way similar to bacteria; this supports the idea that the mechanisms of heredity are universal even in their details. A breakthrough in understanding the action of RNA tumour viruses has been the finding that they reverse the central dogma of molecular biology by directing synthesis of DNA.
Article PDF
References
Stent, G. S., Science, 160, 390 (1968).
Lewin, B. M., The Molecular Basis of Gene Expression (Wiley, London, 1970).
Laycock, D. G., and Hunt, J. A., Nature, 221, 1118 (1969).
Liew, C. C., Haslett, G. W., and Allfrey, V. G., Nature, 226, 414 (1970).
Smith, A. E., and Marcker, K. A., Nature, 226, 607 (1970).
Brown, J. C., and Smith, A. E., Nature, 226, 610 (1970).
Jackson, R., and Hunter, T., Nature, 227, 672 (1970).
Wigle, D. T., and Dixon, G. H., Nature, 227, 676 (1970).
Shafritz, D. A., and Anderson, W. F., Nature, 227, 918 (1970).
Steitz, J. A., Nature, 224, 957 (1969).
Nichols, J. L., Nature, 225, 147 (1970).
Billeter, M. A., Dahlberg, J. E., Goodman, H. M., Hindley, J., and Weissmann, C., Nature, 224, 1083 (1969).
Roberts, J. W., Nature, 224, 1168 (1969).
Sugiura, M., Okamoto, T., and Takanami, M., Nature, 225, 598 (1970).
Bautz, E. K. F., Bautz, F. A., and Dunn, J. J., Nature, 223, 1022 (1969).
Travers, A. A., Nature, 225, 1009 (1970).
Kuwano, M., Schlessinger, D., and Apirion, D., Nature, 226, 514 (1970).
Morse, D. E., and Primakoff, P., Nature, 226, 28 (1970).
Kornberg, A., Science, 163, 1410 (1969).
Kelley, R. B., Atkinson, M. R., Huberman, J. A., and Kornberg, A., Nature, 224, 495 (1969).
De Lucia, P., and Cairns, J., Nature, 224, 1164 (1969).
Gross, J., and Gross, M., Nature, 224, 1166 (1969).
Boyle, J. M., Paterson, M. C., and Setlow, R. B., Nature, 226, 708 (1970).
Smith, D. W., Schaller, H. E., and Bonhoeffer, F. J., Nature, 226, 711 (1970).
Knippers, R., and Stratling, W., Nature, 226, 713 (1970).
Shapiro, J., Machattie, L., Eron, L., Ihler, G., Ippen, K., and Beckwith, J., Nature, 224, 768 (1969).
Agarwal, K. L., Buchi, H., Caruthers, M. H., Gupta, N., Khorana, H. G., Kleppe, K., Kumar, A., Ohtsuka, E., Rajhbandary, U. L., Van de Sande, J. H., Sgaramella, V., Weber, H., and Yamada, Y., Nature, 227, 27 (1970).
Bell, E., Nature, 224, 326 (1969).
Fromson, D., and Nemer, M., Science, 168, 266 (1970).
Baltimore, D., Nature, 226, 1209 (1970).
Mizushima, S., and Temin, H., Nature, 226, 1211 (1970).
Spiegelman, S., Burny, A., Das, M. R., Keydar, J., Schlom, J., Travnicek, M., and Watson, K., Nature, 227, 563 (1970).
Rokutanda, M., Rokutanda, H., Green, M., Fujinaga, K., Rau, K. K., and Gurgo, C., Nature, 227, 1026 (1970).
Spiegelman, S., Burny, A., Das, M. R., Keydar, J., Schlom, J., Travnicek, M., and Watson, K., Nature, 227, 1029 (1970).
Crick, F., Nature, 227, 561 (1970).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LEWIN, B. Second Golden Age of Molecular Biology. Nature 227, 1009–1013 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/2271009a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2271009a0
This article is cited by
-
Small RNA research and the scientific repertoire: a tale about biochemistry and genetics, crops and worms, development and disease
History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences (2021)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.