Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome

Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome

<b>A Nobel Prize-winning biologist tells the riveting story of his race to discover the inner workings of biology's most important molecule</b> <b><br /></b> <b>"Ramakrishnan's writing is so honest, lucid and engaging that I could not put this book down until I had read to the very end."</b> <b>--Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of <i>The Emperor of All Maladies </i>and <i>The Gene</i></b><br /> <b><br /></b>Everyone has heard of DNA. But by itself, DNA is just an inert blueprint for life. It is the ribosome--an enormous molecular machine made up of a million atoms--that makes DNA come to life, turning our genetic code into proteins and therefore into us. <i>Gene Machine</i> is an insider account of the race for the structure of the ribosome, a fundamental discovery that both advances our knowledge of all life and could lead to the development of better antibiotics against life-threatening diseases. But this is also a human story of Ramakrishnan's unlikely journey, from his first fumbling experiments in a biology lab to being the dark horse in a fierce competition with some of the world's best scientists. In the end, <i>Gene Machine</i> is a frank insider's account of the pursuit of high-stakes science.<br /><br />