Where is RNA World? It sounds like a theme park. Actually it is the proposed first step in transitioning from nonliving to living. Several hypotheses describe the assimilation of chemicals into an order that responds to the environment in a living sort of way. If we assume those ideas are correct, the next step is the world of the living.
Talk about living … the archaebacteria and their one-of-a-kind lifestyle are a frontier area for science. Other lifestyles are presented in this section as well, as we look at the different types of small things that inhabit the world around us. Some of them change shapes on a regular basis, making them appear to be two different organisms! This is fascinating biology.
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Biology © 2004 by Glen E. Moulton, Ed.D.. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.