Gene Machine

Author: Venki Ramakrishnan
Genre: popular science, memoir

           Nobel laurate Venki Ramakrishnan’s first book is about his experiences in the race to elucidate the structure of ribosome.  I had read an excerpt from this book earlier, where he talked about how winning a Nobel prize may not be the best thing for a scientist and how prizes, at times can be unfair. I liked it very much and was keen on reading the whole book. I finally got the chance after borrowing a copy from a friend.

          The book starts out with his experiences as a student of physics and his almost accidental entry into biology. It then covers his postdoctoral work that got him interested in ribosomes in the first place, followed by his incredible journey across America and then to MRC, Cambridge, which was across the ocean. The book is mostly a personal account, focusing on his experiences and the struggles he and his lab went through. It eventually culminates with his winning the prize and the Nobel prize ceremony.

           I found the book highly additive and an easy read. Ramakrishnan has done a really nice job of explaining the challenges he faced. Especially, the part on x-ray crystallography is so well written that even someone like me, who runs away from these techniques could understand it. As someone who is in academia, what I liked most about the book though is the honesty and frankness with which the story has been narrated. He has been open about all the politics surrounding the whole ribosome community and science in general. He has also not shied away from his own competitiveness, secrecy and prejudice. Another great point is that he has acknowledged the work of his lab members because in the end, the success is as much theirs as his. 

         After reading this book, I came to know of quite a few things. For instance, in the scientific community, the present trend has been towards doing more collaborative work. However, it has not been the case always. When scientists compete with each other for the same thing as was the case with the ribosome structure, things can at times become ugly. Overall, it may or may not turn to be good for science overall. However, in this case, the ending was happy and the efforts of all those involved lead to an addition of our understanding of one of the fundamental phenomena of nature.

          Finally, I would say that this book has been an enjoyable read. I think it is definitely a must read for every biologist!