Mimicking living cells: Synthesizing ribosomes
Saturday, June 29, 2013 - 16:00
in Biology & Nature
Synthetic biology researchers have for the first time synthesized ribosomes from scratch in a test tube. The researchers took an approach different from their predecessors: they mimicked the natural synthesis of a ribosome, allowing natural enzymes of a cell to help facilitate the human-made construction. The technology could lead to the discovery of new antibiotics targeting ribosome assembly and the creation of tailor-made ribosomes to produce new proteins with exotic functions.