The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life’s Deepest Secrets
by Thomas R. Cech.
Norton, 292 pp., $28.99
It is likely to be remembered as the high point of Donald Trump’s tumultuous first presidency. On May 15, 2020, joined by cabinet members, public health experts, and military officials, he announced Operation Warp Speed, a “momentous medical initiative” to develop, manufacture, and distribute a successful coronavirus vaccine by year’s end, if not sooner. The event had all the trappings of a campaign rally. “Your vision,” gushed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, “will be one of the great scientific and humanitarian accomplishments in human history.” Only four of those flanking Trump in the Rose Garden that day—the physicians Anthony Fauci, Deborah Birx, Francis Collins, and Moncef Slaoui—wore masks, although…