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

• Combining cutting-edge science with personal storytelling, the book explains how the ribosome turns genetic information into proteins. Ramakrishnan also describes his own journey from early laboratory experiments to the international competition that led to the discovery of the ribosome’s complex structure.

• Venki Ramakrishnan is a structural biologist and Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry. He shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research on the structure and function of the ribosome. He was elected President of the Royal Society in 2015.

The book explains why the ribosome is essential to life and tells the story of the scientific race to decipher its structure. Alongside the biology, Ramakrishnan recounts his personal journey and the challenges, rivalries and discoveries involved in high-stakes scientific research. The work also discusses how understanding the ribosome could contribute to the development of better antibiotics.