Molecule of the Month

Ribosome is an essential component of the protein producing machinery. It is a megacomplex of several proteins and ribosomal RNAs. 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists for their outstanding study leading to identification of ribosome structure to the atomic level. There are many web sources describing the structure and function of ribosome but I found the following link a simple and yet most informative one.

RCSB Protein Data Bank : Molecule of the Month - 70S Ribosomes

If you want to see the video of "ribosome in action" go to this site from Venki Ramakrishnan lab:

http://www.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/ribo/homepage/mov_and_overview.html

Enjoy your weekend knowing the miracle of ribosome.

How to Succeed in Science

If you're a young scientist working in the lab, you might find the following articles published in journal Nature very interesting. Though published in 2008, you might miss reading these ones. They are in two parts.
Part I
PartII

Have fun and feel free to drop me your thoughts.