Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome

An amazing awe inspiring journey of path-breaking discovery of RNA structure by the author leading RNA biologist. The story cites the persistence and hard-work of many researchers all over the world engaged in the race to uncover the mystery.The account starts with the author taking the life altering decision of taking part in the cut throat competition of finding the structure of gene machine.With progress in time, he acquired the requisite skill and gathered a group of ambitious researchers who worked relentlessly with him for the cause.Their path stricken with multiple risks,setbacks, wrong decisions,failures,politics and need of proper recognition is bound to strike a chord with every reader. Ramakrishnan brings alive the odyssey through his detailed description,engaging storytelling and colourful characters who helped in the long run.🔬Loved the way author emphasized on keep doing core science without falling prey to the lure of big awards and fame that came along-with them.Being a bio-technologist, I could feel their angst at every setback and elation at the small successes which lead to the final triumph. I would recommend the book to each and every science student and to reader who harbor a scientific attitude.

Venki Ramakrishnan’s book is the story of the race to understand the structure and workings of the ribosome, and his part in that. He comes across as a modest, self-deprecating person, able to reveal his weaknesses as well as his strengths, and someone who is generous in acknowledging the contributions of others. As with many scientists of great aptitude, he lacks arrogance and at times comes across as quite diffident as to his abilities, fearing that others are better qualified than he is to solve this puzzle. His book does a wonderful job of conveying the combination of friendliness and rivalry that accompanies any scientific contest, no more so than when solving a problem of this importance. The journey is a roller coaster where one day his team seems to be ahead of his rivals, and the next a paper is published that suggests they are behind. He successfully expresses how his emotions rose and sank, as he continually tried to figure out where he was in relation to others in the race. In some respects, the book reminds me of The Double Helix by James Watson which recounts a similar, frantic rush to beat the competition to establish the structure of an important biological molecule.A chapter I found fascinating was one where Ramakrishnan discussed the politics of scientific awards, including the Nobel Prize, arguing that the system can become a closed-club where the same scientists repeatedly win prestigious honours. He was particularly critical of Nobel Prizes, writing: “Because many of the early Nobel laureates were giants in their field, the idea has taken hold – especially among non-scientists – that Nobel laureates are geniuses. In fact, the prize is not awarded for being a great scientist but rather for making a groundbreaking discovery or invention. Some of them may be extraordinarily brilliant, but others are just good scientists who were persistent or happened to stumble onto a major finding. Being in the right place at the right time often helped enormously”. He also blasted the rule that limits the number of winners to three. This may have been appropriate a century ago, but nowadays it doesn’t reflect the collaboration, intentional or otherwise, that marks most major scientific advances.He also writes about what he calls post-Nobelitis. As he puts it: “Suddenly, scientists are thrust into the limelight and bask in the public adulation that goes with it. They are asked for their opinion on everything under the sun, regardless of their own expertise, and it soon goes to their head. Some of them are long past their prime, having made their big discoveries decades earlier, and the renewed attention means that they spend their time wandering around the world, pontificating about all sorts of things”.Ramakrishnan knew that solving the mystery of the ribosome was worthy of a Nobel Prize but, with the rule of three in mind, he honestly admits that “I started worrying about my relative contribution and whether I would be perceived as a Johnny-come-lately rather than a pioneer”.Despite his cynicism about how the system works, Ramakrishnan comes across as extremely ambitious and someone who spent a lot of time fretting whether he would miss out on this ultimate scientific accolade. Would the ribosome really merit an award? And, if so, which three of the numerous scientists involved during something like 20 years of research would be named on the citation?A criticism I have of the book is that so many scientists are named that it is easy to lose track of who did what, where and when. Unfortunately, there is no index so when a name reappears there is no simple way of tracing when he or she was first mentioned. Furthermore, after they have been first introduced, Ramakrishnan often refers to scientists only by their first names, and the text is littered with references to Tom, Dick (actually Richard!) and Harry, which means that even having an index would be of limited value as an aide memoire. Perhaps a cast list might be better.Based on his personal experience, Ramakrishnan provides lots of interesting details about the mechanism of announcing and then awarding the Nobel Prizes. No doubt like many other recipients have been, he was very suspicious when he received the phone call from Sweden informing him that he’d won. Also, curiously, he tells us that the banquet after the ceremony is televised and shown live in Sweden. But he comments: “I wouldn’t have thought spending the evening watching a group of strangers eat would make for much drama, but there were speeches and entertainment”.The book is quite technical in places, notably in terms of crystallographic techniques. Nonetheless, it is not necessary to understand the details in order to enjoy this book because this is an account of how the race for a Nobel Prize is won, or, more often, lost. And therein lies the focus of the book.

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Genial

First class service, highly recommended, excellent in every way!