A Nobel Prize-winning biologist tells the riveting story of his race to discover the inner workings of biology's most important molecule "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." -- Siddhartha Mukherjee, author of The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene 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. Gene Machine 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, Gene Machine is a frank insider's account of the pursuit of high-stakes science.

Knud Nierhaus, who has studied the ribosome for more than 30 years, has assembled here the combined efforts of several scientific disciplines into a uniform picture of the largest enzyme complex found in living cells, finally resolving many decades-old questions in molecular biology. In so doing he considers virtually all aspects of ribosome structure and function -- from the molecular mechanism of different ribosomal ribozyme activities to their selective inhibition by antibiotics, from assembly of the core particle to the regulation of ribosome component synthesis. The result is a premier resource for anyone with an interest in ribosomal protein synthesis, whether in the context of molecular biology, biotechnology, pharmacology or molecular medicine.

The ribosome is a macromolecular machine that synthesizes proteins with a high degree of speed and accuracy. Our present understanding of its structure, function and dynamics is the result of six decades of research. This book collects over 40 articles based on the talks presented at the 2010 Ribosome Meeting, held in Orvieto, Italy, covering all facets of the structure and function of the ribosome. New high-resolution crystal structures of functional ribosome complexes and cryo-EM structures of translating ribosomes are presented, while partial reactions of translation are examined in structural and mechanistic detail, featuring translocation as a most dynamic process. Mechanisms of initiation, both in bacterial and eukaryotic systems, translation termination, and novel details of the functions of the respective factors are described. Structure and interactions of the nascent peptide within, and emerging from, the ribosomal peptide exit tunnel are addressed in several articles. Structural and single-molecule studies reveal a picture of the ribosome exhibiting the energy landscape of a processive Brownian machine. The collection provides up-to-date reviews which will serve as a source of essential information for years to come.

Complete coverage of the ribosome and mechanisms of protein synthesis. * Examines the structure and function of numerous extra-chromosomal factors. * Offers the first detailed account of crystal structures of the ribosome as well as insights into the mechanisms and action of antibiotics. This title is published by the American Society for Microbiology Press and distributed by Taylor and Francis in rest of world territories.

Ribozymes Provides comprehensive coverage of a core field in the molecular biosciences, bringing together decades of knowledge from the world’s top professionals in the field Timely and unique in its breadth of content, this all-encompassing and authoritative reference on ribozymes documents the great diversity of nucleic acid-based catalysis. It integrates the knowledge gained over the past 35 years in the field and features contributions from virtually every leading expert on the subject. Ribozymes is organized into six major parts. It starts by describing general principles and strategies of nucleic acid catalysis. It then introduces naturally occurring ribozymes and includes the search for new catalytic motifs or novel genomic locations of known motifs. Next, it covers the development and design of engineered ribozymes, before moving on to DNAzymes as a close relative of ribozymes. The next part examines the use of ribozymes for medicinal and environmental diagnostics, as well as for therapeutic tools. It finishes with a look at the tools and methods in ribozyme research, including the techniques and assays for structural and functional characterization of nucleic acid catalysts. The first reference to tie together all aspects of the multi-faceted field of ribozymes Features more than 30 comprehensive chapters in two volumes Covers the chemical principles of RNA catalysis; naturally occurring ribozymes, engineered ribozymes; DNAzymes; ribozymes as tools in diagnostics and therapy, and tools and methods to study ribozymes Includes first-hand accounts of concepts, techniques, and applications by a team of top international experts from leading academic institutions Dedicates half of its content to methods and practical applications, ranging from bioanalytical tools to medical diagnostics to therapeutics Ribozymes is an unmatched resource for all biochemists, biotechnologists, molecular biologists, and bioengineers interested in the topic.

A Top 25 CHOICE 2016 Title, and recipient of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title (OAT) Award. How much energy is released in ATP hydrolysis? How many mRNAs are in a cell? How genetically similar are two random people? What is faster, transcription or translation?Cell Biology by the Numbers explores these questions and dozens of others provid

The Principles of Biology sequence (BI 211, 212 and 213) introduces biology as a scientific discipline for students planning to major in biology and other science disciplines. Laboratories and classroom activities introduce techniques used to study biological processes and provide opportunities for students to develop their ability to conduct research.

This book offers a collection of information on successive steps of molecular 'dialogue' between plants and pathogens. It additionally presents data that reflects intrinsic logic of plant-parasite interactions. New findings discussed include: host and non-host resistance, specific and nonspecific elicitors, elicitors and suppressors, and plant and animal immunity. This book enables the reader to understand how to promote or prevent disease development, and allows them to systematize their own ideas of plant-pathogen interactions.* Offers a more extensive scope of the problem as compared to other books in the market* Presents data to allow consideration of host-parasite relationships in dynamics and reveals interrelations between pathogenicity and resistance factors* Discusses beneficial plant-microbe interactions and practical aspects of molecular investigations of plant-parasite relationships* Compares historical study of common and specific features of plant immunity with animal immunity

This monograph is neither a historical outline of the development of the concepts of protein biosynthesis and the structure and functions of the ribosomes, nor an exhaustive survey of the literature on these questions. The monograph is based upon an analysis of the modern trends in this field. The purpose of the monograph was to formulate more or less generalized representations of the structure and" function of the ribosome, as we envision it at the present day. It may be that this attempt is premature for a number of reasons, and the concepts outlined here will very soon be revised. Nonetheless, despite this risk, we believe it to be advisable to undertake this attempt for the following reasons: firstly, the undertaken analysis could aid in the comprehension of the substantial mass of extremely scattered experimental data on the ribosomes presently available; secondly, in any event, even if most of the concepts outlined rapidly become obselete, they can still serve as a stimulus for a whole series of experiments; and thirdly, we hope that some of the concepts outlined will still remain essentially correct and relatively stable. In view of the aforementioned, we should make the following reservations. First of all, we made no attempt to cite all the literature on the problems discussed, but considered it sufficient to illustrate the various premises with one or several sample references.