In 1977, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign discovered archaea, a third domain of life distinct from bacteria and eukaryotes, by sequencing DNA and comparing genetic differences between organisms. The finding meant the tree of life has three primordial branches rather than two, and it helped launch the field of molecular phylogenetics, which traces evolutionary relationships between species using DNA sequences.
262 words · auto-generated from the episode video
1:02:58>> Now we move to 1977 discovery of archa. >> Right. So, we're getting better and better at sequencing DNA now, right? We we've had Nobel prizes that that showed how to sequence DNA. Well, Carl and George Fox at the University of Illinois or Bana Champagne, they discovered that when you start sequencing this DNA, you find a third domain of life, a third type of organism that is different from bacteria and it's different from the ukareotes that you and I are. >> And he called them archa. This was huge because it one showed us that the tree of life has actually three primordial limbs, not just two.
1:03:39>> Yes. >> And it started modern molecular phoggenetics where now we look at the DNA and we can now trace back how species are related. >> Love the tree of life stuff. 1978 discovery of hepatitis C. >> Yeah, this is pretty simple. >> Yes, >> they discovered the third form of hepatitis. Harvey Alter identified non A nonB hepatitis is what he called it because back then hepatitis A and B were pretty ubiquitous and here he had to prove in his paper that it's not A and it's not B. Um this was at NIH also along with viologist Charles Rice. They provided that genetic proof. Charles Rice was at
1:04:19the Washington University in St. Louis and they won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine. We're staying with 1978 with the first first synthesis of recombinant human insulin. >> Yeah, this was huge. Um, Kaichi Itakura,