Genome
Ch. 1-
Ridley begins his book with a dramatically ambiguous chapter one. He focuses on a biblical concept of "the word" in the very beginning of the earth. The word Ridley refers to is genomic information stored in RNA molecules. Long has debate continued about which came first, the DNA that codes for protein or the proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. Ridley suggests that RNA came first, with its ability to copy itself without assistance. The first chromosome contains a gene that is suspected as being the first gene, able to duplicate itself for it is repeated on the first chromosome over and over again.
Terms: ‘ur-gene': probably the very first gene, able o duplicate itself and therefore catalyze reactions using chemicals around it. May have been made of RNA.
‘ribo-organism': before any other organism, Ridley suggests that RNA began to evolve into larger organisms that paved the way for life.
‘LUCA': Last Universal Common Ancestor, or first sophisticated......

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Title: Genome
Approximate Word Count: 3591
Approximate Pages: 15 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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