It was a fun and productive summer:
1. I provided evidence to support the hypothesis that the origin of mitochondria was front-loaded and, in doing so, ran across a striking example of molecular convergence. All of this helps us see how front-loading can guide the blind watchmaker.
2. I outlined some evidence showing it to be plausible that blood was front-loaded into single-celled life forms.
3. I outlined a search for the last universal common ancestor of all life
and provided evidence that this ancestral state was not much different from a modern day cell:
4. The hypothesis of front-loading led me to consider the ribosome as a vehicle for front-loading, which in turn, led me to successfully expect:
a. ribosomal proteins would have functions apart from protein translation:
b. rRNA would actually code for protein sequence:
c. Permutations of ribosomal protein code would actually code for other proteins:
5. I provided more evidence that the genetic code is remarkably exceptional:
6. I provided an example where the choice of amino acids helps to front-load life: