In a first for cell biology, scientists observe ribosome assembly in real time

(Scripps Research Institute) A team of scientists from Scripps Research and Stanford University has recorded in real time a key step in the assembly of ribosomes -- the complex and evolutionarily ancient 'molecular machines' that make proteins in cells and are essential for all life forms. They reveal in unprecedented detail how strands of RNA are 'chaperoned' by ribosomal proteins into folding properly; the findings overturn the longstanding belief that ribosomes are assembled in a tightly cont...