"How do Antibiotics Block the Protein Factory of Pathogenic Bacteria?"

Professor Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, 2009 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry

Infectious diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria is a continuing world-wide problem. Nearly half of antibiotics act by blocking protein synthesis in bacteria. In this talk, Professor Venkatraman Ramakrishnan will give a brief introduction to the idea behind antibiotics, and then talk about the ribosome, the large molecular machine that translates the information in our genes to make proteins in all forms of life. Finally, Professor Ramakrishnan will conclude by showing how the atomic structures of the ribosome were used to see directly how antibiotics would block its function, and about how this information is now being used in the design of new antibiotics.