HIGH-RESOLUTION images of the protein-making factories in cells have revealed
clues about the origin of life and could lead to new ways to fight
antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The factories, or ribosomes, translate the genetic code into proteins. “Stop
the ribosome and you are dead,” says structural biologist Thomas Steitz of Yale
University. He, along with Peter Moore and other colleagues, has worked out the
structure of the larger of the two subunits that make up a ribosome.
Many antibiotics kill bacteria by targeting their ribosomes. But bacteria can
become resistant by mutating and changing the ribosomes’ shape. Knowing the
structure of…
