The Gene Machine

Everyone knows the term DNA. It is the essence of our being. It determines who we are and what we pass on to our children. Mention the ribosome, on the other hand, and you will usually be met with blank faces, even from scientists. And yet without the ribosome, nothing lives. For if DNA is data then it can’t go anywhere, or do anything, without a machine to process it. Unlocking the secrets of this gene-reading molecule was once among the most fundamental problems in molecular biology... Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan tells the story of the race to determine the structure of the ribosome and so resolve an ancient mystery at the heart of life itself. Illuminating, persuasive and compelling, Gene Machine not only reveals a great discovery but offers a fascinating insight into what it is like to work at the cutting edge of modern science amid the attending competition, politics and larger-than-life personalities.