Friday, September 15, 2006
Biologists Probe The Machinery Of Cellular Protein Factories (Ribosomes)
Proteins of all sizes and shapes do most of the work in living cells, and the DNA sequences in genes spell out the instructions for making those proteins. The crucial job of reading the genetic instructions and synthesizing the specified proteins is carried out by ribosomes, tiny protein factories humming away inside the cells of all living things.
Harry Noller (homepage), the Sinsheimer Professor of Molecular Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has been studying the ribosome for more than 30 years. His main goal is to understand how the ribosome works and how it evolved, but there are also practical reasons to pursue this research.
....The new picture shows details never seen before and suggests how certain parts of the ribosome move during protein synthesis. A paper describing the new findings will be published in the September 22 issue of the journal Cell and is currently available online. [Evolution News]
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Based on "Crystal Structure of a 70S Ribosome-tRNA Complex Reveals Functional Interactions and Rearrangements" (Abstract) - at the time of writing the Full Text is also available but only via the link given, not via the Abstract link.
technorati tags: proteins, living, cells, dna, genetic, instructions, ribosomes, protein, molecular, biology, university, california, santa+cruz, research, synthesis, journal, cell, evolution, news, crystal, structure, complex, ribosome
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