Very interesting topic (and a well written article to back it up). Like another commenter, I've always felt Woese deserved more recognition (perhaps even a Nobel prize, although perhaps hard to see which category his work would fit in which may have been part of the problem). The Tangled Tree is on my reading (or rather listening) list now as an audiobook
Thanks, Rob! Woese has gotten his share of prizes and awards, so I think he’s not too bothered. But yeah, he’s probably not as widely known outside of biology as his impact perhaps warrants.
Finally, someone is talking about one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. When I read David Quammen’s book; “The tangled Webb” I was a convert to Professor Carl Woese. You have only scratched the surface with your article, because he also dethroned Darwin, showing us that we are not just inherited genes from our parents, but also infected genes from viruses by horizontal gene transfer. So, for example, placental birth started 150,000 years after the dinosaurs extinction, when ALL mammals were infected with the syncytial trophoblast from an RSV virus, providing the rocket fuel for intelligent life. There is much more to this maverick scientist, which I encourage everyone to read in “The tangled Tree. Thanks for introducing him to your readers.
Thanks Geoffrey! (I wouldn't say he 'dethroned' Darwin, who didn't know about genes or DNA. Woese, though, certainly expanded our view on the genome's complexity, that's for sure.) The placenta is such an interesting example of how viruses altered the course of evolution. I might have to dig into that a little more!
Thanks, Geoff. That’s a great point. Axons and dendrites have actin rings that interact with microtubules. I don’t know enough about it to speculate about their function, but some actin mutations seem to correlate with neurological disorders. Lots more to explore there!
Some more:
The ever-changing tree of life
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-024-01768-w
Very interesting topic (and a well written article to back it up). Like another commenter, I've always felt Woese deserved more recognition (perhaps even a Nobel prize, although perhaps hard to see which category his work would fit in which may have been part of the problem). The Tangled Tree is on my reading (or rather listening) list now as an audiobook
Thanks, Rob! Woese has gotten his share of prizes and awards, so I think he’s not too bothered. But yeah, he’s probably not as widely known outside of biology as his impact perhaps warrants.
Finally, someone is talking about one of the greatest scientists of the 20th century. When I read David Quammen’s book; “The tangled Webb” I was a convert to Professor Carl Woese. You have only scratched the surface with your article, because he also dethroned Darwin, showing us that we are not just inherited genes from our parents, but also infected genes from viruses by horizontal gene transfer. So, for example, placental birth started 150,000 years after the dinosaurs extinction, when ALL mammals were infected with the syncytial trophoblast from an RSV virus, providing the rocket fuel for intelligent life. There is much more to this maverick scientist, which I encourage everyone to read in “The tangled Tree. Thanks for introducing him to your readers.
Thanks Geoffrey! (I wouldn't say he 'dethroned' Darwin, who didn't know about genes or DNA. Woese, though, certainly expanded our view on the genome's complexity, that's for sure.) The placenta is such an interesting example of how viruses altered the course of evolution. I might have to dig into that a little more!
Nice! Interesting to note that the cross pollination of our thoughts are influenced by actins and mRNA.
Thanks, Geoff. That’s a great point. Axons and dendrites have actin rings that interact with microtubules. I don’t know enough about it to speculate about their function, but some actin mutations seem to correlate with neurological disorders. Lots more to explore there!