What is "ribozyme"

n. a fragment of RNA that can act as an enzyme

Ribozymes (ribonucleic acid enzymes) are RNA molecules that are capable of catalyzing specific biochemical reactions, similar to the action of protein enzymes. The 1982 discovery of ribozymes demonstrated that RNA can be both genetic material (like DNA) and a biological catalyst (like protein enzymes), and contributed to the RNA world hypothesis, which suggests that RNA may have been important in the evolution of prebiotic self-replicating systems. The most common activities of natural or in vitro-evolved ribozymes are the cleavage or ligation of RNA and DNA and peptide bond formation. Within the ribosome, ribozymes function as part of the large subunit ribosomal RNA to link amino acids during protein synthesis. They also participate in a variety of RNA processing reactions, including RNA splicing, viral replication, and transfer RNA biosynthesis. Examples of ribozymes include the hammerhead ribozyme, the VS ribozyme, Leadzyme and the hairpin ribozyme.

Investigators studying the origin of life have produced ribozymes in the laboratory that are capable of catalyzing their own synthesis from activated monomers under very specific conditions, such as an RNA polymerase ribozyme. Mutagenesis and selection has been performed resulting in isolation of improved variants of the "Round-18" polymerase ribozyme from 2001. "B6.61" is able to add up to 20 nucleotides to a primer template in 24 hours, until it decomposes by cleavage of its phosphodiester bonds. The "tC19Z" ribozyme can add up to 95 nucleotides with a fidelity of 0.0083 mutations/nucleotide.

Attempts have been made to develop ribozymes as therapeutic agents, as enzymes which target defined RNA sequences for cleavage, as biosensors, and for applications in functional genomics and gene discovery.

Ribozyme is a Norwegian hard rock band formed in 1998. It features progressive drum beats, emotionally strong guitars and an ever-changing vocal style. It has been classified as dark, but not Gothic; angry, but not violent; sad, but not tearful, not hard, but still heavy.

After the release of their first EP in 1999, they were featured on the by:Larm festival which led to a massive increase in popularity and allowed them to release an album. In 2004, after two albums, two EPs and a single, one of the guitar players, Jan Ove Knutsen quit the band to concentrate on his family, forcing the band to consider their future. They opted for not hiring another guitarist and instead re-wrote a lot of their old material and experimented with a new sound.

In 2005 the band went on their first European tour, after more than 100 concerts in Norway.

In August 2006, only a couple of weeks before the release of Blacklist Mercy, drummer Frank Hertzberg was replaced with Cato Olaisen from the band Major Parkinson. The band toured Norway to support the release, and did also return to Germany for three concerts early in 2007. After playing festivals in Norway in the summer of 2007, the band went into the rehearsal studio to write their next record. In April 2009 Cato Olaisen left Major Parkinson to concentrate his time on Ribozyme, and later that year, on 17 August 2009, their latest release, March Of Crime was released in Norway, and received great reviews in the media. This was Ribozyme's first album with their current lineup which led to a different approach to the band's sound and musical expression. They were also made Ukas Urørt for the track One Day Worth. The band went on to release full-length albums Presenting The Problem in 2012 and Grinding Tune in May, 2015.