The Catalyst

[An] impressively comprehensive work ... [Cech] writes with easy charm and uses analogies helpfully and elegantly.--Nessa Carey ""The TLS"" An absorbing account of the scientific journey that led to the development of crucial RNA-based vaccine technologies and other important medical breakthroughs. Readers will come away from this fascinating book feeling more knowledgeable and empowered to make decisions about their own health.--Kenneth Frazier, retired CEO of Merck & Co. For brains of a mortal frequency, RNA may have only popped into consciousness with the groundbreaking introduction of COVID-targeting mRNA vaccines and CRISPR therapies. In the telling of Nobel Prize-winning scientist Tom Cech, RNA was long the sidelined brother of DNA, with its showy double helix. Thanks to work by Cech and others, the power of RNA to impact aging and catalyze biochemical reactions is made apparent.-- ""Literary Hub"" Having spent most of his career studying RNA, [Cech] has rare insights into the cast of characters and the serendipitous events that led to this understanding. His lucid, engaging and clear account will appeal to general readers and specialists alike.--John Mattick ""Nature"" Nobel laureate Thomas Cech takes us into the world of RNA with a story that's as enlightening as it is fascinating. It's a must read for anyone interested in the molecule that has shaped life itself and is driving the future of science and medicine.--Jennifer Doudna, Nobel laureate, co-inventor of CRISPR gene editing, and founder of the Innovative Genomics Institute The Catalyst [is] a joy, from a writer who can't help but be as endearing as he is authoritative.--Tom Leslie ""New Scientist"" A series of dogma-smashing and Nobel-winning discoveries about RNA has transformed our understanding of how life works and given birth to exquisite, life-saving technologies. Thomas Cech's The Catalyst is a masterful account of the RNA revolution in biology and medicine by one of its brilliant pioneers.--Sean B. Carroll, author of The Serengeti Rules and A Series of Fortunate Events Cech debuts with an entrancing primer on the vast capabilities of RNA... The biological discussions are remarkably lucid, thanks to easy-to-understand analogies. . . . [The Catalyst] fascinates.-- ""Publishers Weekly (starred review)"" Cech is a lucid prose stylist, vividly communicating his and his colleagues' excitement as they have unraveled RNA's secrets.. . . . [The Catalyst is] an expert update on the hottest topics in biology.-- ""Kirkus Reviews"" Lively and entertaining. . . . In [The Catalyst], the machinations of RNA emerge as a core feature of what makes us human. We appear to be at the beginning of a conceptual enlightenment in biology--an 'age of RNA, ' as Mr. Cech calls it. Biology will never be the same.--Adrian Woolfson ""Wall Street Journal"" Thomas Cech led the way into what will be known as the age of RNA. When others were focused on DNA, Cech probed the mysteries of the then lesser-known, but wondrous molecule that creates the stuff of life and is a key to life's origins. The Catalyst vividly describes the marvels of RNA and the discoveries--from vaccines to gene-editing tools--that will shape our future. I am so glad Cech wrote this book.--Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times best-selling author of Elon Musk and The Code Breaker