RNA compels Georges St. Laurent III to go to the gym. The genetic molecule inspires him to eat right and take care of himself. His efforts are all aimed at maintaining the delicate machinery housed in his cells.
But while he cares for his body, it’s the supercomputer in his brain he’s really trying to preserve. After all, the human brain is evolution’s finest achievement, says St. Laurent, a computational and molecular biologist at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. And while many have focused on the import of DNA’s genetic information, he believes that DNA’s chemical cousin, RNA, is the true hero.
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