How Human Large 60S Ribosome Subunit Forms

Life runs on ribosomes. Every cell on earth needs ribosomes to translate genetic information into all the proteins needed for the organism to function—and to, in turn, make more ribosomes. But scientists still lack a clear understanding of how these essential nanomachines are assembled. Now, new high-resolution images of the large ribosomal subunit are shedding light on how arguably nature’s most fundamental molecule coalesces in human cells. The findings, published on July 7,2023 in Science, bring us one step closer to a complete picture of ribosome assembly. The article is titled “Principles of Human Pre-60S Biogenesis.” “We now have a pretty good idea of how the large ribosomal subunit is assembled in humans,” says Rockefeller’s Sebastian Klinge, PhD. “We still have quite a few gaps in our understanding, but we certainly now have a much better idea than we had before.”