James E. Darnell, Jr., M.D. has been Vincent Astor Professor at The Rockefeller University since 1974. His career has included poliovirus research with Harry Eagle at the National Institutes of Health, research with Fran�ois Jacob at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, and academic appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Columbia University. He has mentored over 120 doctoral students and postdoctoral scientists. From the very beginning of his first lab at MIT, Darnell, his students and postdocs have studied RNA, its synthesis, processing, and transcriptional regulation.
Darnell is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and has received numerous awards, including the 2003 National Medal of Science and the 2002 Albert Lasker Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science. He is the coauthor, with S.E. Luria, of General Virology (Wiley) and the founding author with Harvey Lodish and David Baltimore of Molecular Cell Biology
"At first blush, we would think anyone in the current...RNA science
pantheon could write a book like this, but once one takes a look
and sees the richness of erudition, the poignancy of detail, the
measured nuances, and -- most of all -- his elegant writing,
combined with the underlying perspective of history, I cannot think
of anyone in our RNA community who could have done it more
attractively. ...No one could have written the eukaryotic RNA story
as well as Jim Darnell. ...This book...will not be supplanted by as
glorious a book on RNA anytime soon."
--RNA"Darnell's book on RNA is a masterpiece of scholarship. It
deserves an exalted place on the bookshelf of every molecular
biologist and biochemist -- next to other classics like Watson's
Molecular Biology of the Gene, Kornberg's DNA Replication, and
Judson's The Eighth Day of Creation."
--Joe Goldstein, UT Southwestern"Jim Darnell's career in science
covers the 60 or so years following the publication of the
Watson-Crick structure of DNA. This remarkable book tells a story
that parallels his career, dealing at the beginning with the
prehistory of research on RNA, DNA, and proteins and then shifting
into high gear with a detailed look at the history of bacterial
messenger RNA and the author's own specialty, the RNA of eukaryotic
cells....Darnell is an experienced teacher and author of textbooks.
His explanations of complex experiments are superb..."
--The FASEB Journal"Darnell has been at the forefront of molecular
biology throughout his illustrious career. He leaves no stone
unturned in this comprehensive but clear text...The real value of
this work, aside from its extraordinarily readable style, is that
it covers the history of RNA biology from the early pioneers to the
present....The text is supported by high-quality, highly
informative figures....up-and-coming students and seasoned
researchers alike will gain significant insight into this central
field."
--Choice"Darnell's book is not only a bible but a lexicon. Every
key experiment from the past seven decades that shaped current
appreciation of the multiple roles of cellular RNA molecules is
described with clarity in several succinct sentences....RNA: Life's
Indispensable Molecule should be required reading, as well as a
handy desktop reference, for everyone charged with teaching gene
expression on any level. It really does say it all."
--Joan A. Steitz in Science"Although we take the roles of RNA for
granted, its history is not as well known as that of DNA. Perhaps
it was long overdue for a stellar RNA researcher such as James
Darnell to undertake such a challenge. The book he has written is
as remarkable as his career....The highly detailed account along
with a flawless sense of history, take the reader through a
fascinating journey of several decades of discoveries and exciting
findings in molecular biology. Darnell's very personal style makes
this book enjoyable...After reading more than 400 pages of text, I
was not exhausted. This book should be mandatory reading for
advanced undergraduates and graduate students in biology and
biochemistry. Even newly minted doctoral recipients could benefit
from reviewing some key experiments..."
--CBE -- Life Sciences Education
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