TabulaSynthase, the blog of Whitehead Institute, brings together ideas and perspectives from the Whitehead community and beyond. On January 1, 1994, Whitehead Institute Fellow David Bartel officially opened his lab. Since then, his lab has achieved numerous milestones as a trailblazer in RNA research. Initially the lab studied the ability of RNA to catalyze chemical reactions, including reactions that would have been required early in the evolution of life.