5. Evolutionary Foundations

• Changes in the Hereditary Instructions Allow Evolution

• Biomolecules First Arose by Chemical Evolution

• RNA or Related Precursors May Have Been the First Genes and Catalysts

• Biological Evolution Began More Than Three and a Half Billion Years Ago

• The First Cell Probably Used Inorganic Fuels

• Eukaryotic Cells Evolved from Simpler Precursors in Several Stages

• Molecular Anatomy Reveals Evolutionary Relationships

• Functional Genomics Shows the Allocations of Genes to Specific Cellular Processes

• Genomic Comparisons Have Increasing Importance in Medicine