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RNA Period 1962–1971

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Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science ((BRIESFHISTCHEM))

Abstract

Fred was still working with active centers of enzymes and with proteins in general. He liked the visual methods of paper chromatography and paper electrophoresis, and he held a certain disdain for work on columns. Protein sequencing, however, had largely gone to column methods because they were more quantitative.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The Edman procedure is an N-terminal amino acid identification technique that, unlike Fred’s DNFB method, does not require the destruction of the peptide under investigation.

  2. 2.

    Dr. Neil E. Gordon of Johns Hopkins University initiated Gordon Research Conferences to allow scientists with a common interest to share current activity in their area. The 4–5 day meetings had talks in the mornings and evenings with afternoons open for discussion and recreation. A retreat setting lessened distractions [2].

  3. 3.

    RNA contains A, G, C, and U. DNA contains A, G, C, and T.

  4. 4.

    tRNAS were first called S-RNAs because they were soluble in water.

  5. 5.

    Bart Barrell earned a Cambridge Ph.D. based on his years of working with Fred. He never earned an undergraduate degree.

  6. 6.

    Robert Holley, Gobind Khorana, and Marshall Nirenberg shared the 1968 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for their interpretation of the genetic code and its function in protein synthesis” [9].

  7. 7.

    The various rRNAs are designated by their ultracentrifugation sedimentation coefficients. E. coli rRNAs are 5S, 16S, and 23S, with larger numbers corresponding to larger size.

  8. 8.

    Horace Freeland Judson was a historian of molecular biology and the author of The Eighth Day of Creation, a history of molecular biology.

  9. 9.

    Persplex, Plexiglas, and Lucite are trade names for poly(methyl methacrylate). It provides a barrier against the β-emitting 32P.

  10. 10.

    32P has a half-life of 14 days.

References

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Correspondence to Joe S. Jeffers .

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Jeffers, J.S. (2017). RNA Period 1962–1971 . In: Frederick Sanger. SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-54709-1_5

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