1
of
1
Gene Machine
The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome
Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.
Check link for latest rating. ( 2,061 ratings, 315 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still
learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Summary
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$2499
Unit price
/
Unavailable
AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER
Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 4-6 weeks
Found a better price? Request a price match
Gene Machine
$2499
Unit price
/
Unavailable
Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Ideal for readers fascinated by science, molecular biology, and personal memoirs of scientific endeavour, particularly those who appreciate an insider’s perspective on the realities of modern research and discovery.
Latest News
Kiritapu Allan visits Book Hero
We were lucky enough to have Kiritapu Allan visit the team at Book Hero while...
Introducing The Art and Craft of Stephen King
I've been a fan of the horror genre since I was young, I remember making...
Reading Before Voting
As we head towards our general election on 7 November, I've realised I'm a lot...
Story to Screen - 04/07/26
Welcome to this week's 'Story to Screen Report', where Sacha rounds up the biggest news...
The Grand Line Awaits! New One Piece Plush Toys
New One Piece Plush Toys have arrived at Toy Hero
See more
The thrilling story of how scientists unlocked a new window onto how life works
The thrilling story of how scientists unlocked a new window onto how life works
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
From Nobel Prize winner Venki Ramakrishnan
‘Beyond superb’ Bill Bryson
‘A wonderful book’ Ian McEwan
Everyone knows about DNA. It is the essence of our being, influencing who we are and what we pass on to our children. But the information in DNA can’t be used without a machine to decode it. The ribosome is that machine. Older than DNA itself, it is the mother of all molecules. Virtually every molecule made in every cell was either made by the ribosome or by proteins that were themselves made by the ribosome.
Venki Ramakrishnan tells the story of the race to uncover the ribosome’s enormously complex structure, a fundamental breakthrough that resolves an ancient mystery of life itself and could lead to the development of better antibiotics. A fascinating insider account, Gene Machine charts Ramakrishnan’s unlikely journey from his first fumbling experiments in a biology lab to being at the centre of a fierce competition at the cutting edge of modern science.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Nature calls it ‘invitingly witty’, while The Times praises it as ‘a must-read for anyone interested in the messy business of how science happens, including rivalries and mistakes.’ Bill Bryson describes it as ‘beyond superb’, highlighting its wit and enthralling nature. Forbes notes it as a profoundly human and honest memoir, showing the ambition, jealousy, and challenges behind scientific discovery.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781786076717
Publisher: Oneworld Publications
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 05 September 2019
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Oneworld Publications
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 20.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 288
About the Author
Venki Ramakrishnan is a structural biologist who shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on the structure and function of the ribosome. He was knighted in 2012 and elected president of the Royal Society in 2015. He works at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.
Also by Venki Ramakrishnan
View all-
Why We Die
'Changed my perspective on the whole living world but most of all myself.' – CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN 'Enthralling and packed with insights.' – BILL BRYSON 'A must-read.' – STEPHEN FRY SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 2024 __________ How can science help us live better and longer? We are living through an exciting revolution in biology. Giant strides...PaperbackSold Out -
Why We Die
A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST SUMMER READ OF 2024 'Enthralling and packed with insights.' - BILL BRYSON 'A must-read.' - STEPHEN FRY 'Spectacular. Changed my perspective on the whole living world.' - CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN A groundbreaking exploration of the science of longevity from Nobel Prize-winning molecular biologist Venki Ramakrishnan __________________ How can science help us live better and longer? We...PaperbackSold Out
More from Science & Nature
View all-
Murder Under the Mistletoe
BOOK 4 IN THE BESTSELLING CANON CLEMENT MYSTERY SERIES 'The best of the new cosy crime writers' Daily Telegraph 'You'll want to take a front row pew in Champton while this delicious series unfolds' Janice Hallett It is Christmas Day and at Champton Rectory, Canon Daniel Clement and his mother Audrey are joined by the residents and guests of the...Paperback$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
John and Paul
THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'A triumph.' Deborah Levy, New Statesman 'Tremendous.' Alwyn Turner, The Times 'Revelatory.' Simon Schama, Financial Times 'The gold standard of Beatles books.' Anthony Quinn, Observer 'As enthralling and astonishing as their music.' Jon Dennis, Sunday Telegraph 'A masterpiece.' Dylan Jones, Evening Standard '[Ian Leslie]...Paperback$2800Elsewhere:$3299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Raising Hare
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2025 SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 SHORTLISTED FOR THE HATCHARDS AND BIOGRAPHERS' CLUB FIRST BIOGRAPHY PRIZE A BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE HAY FESTIVAL, SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, FINANCIAL TIMES, SPECTATOR AND iNEWS 'A beautiful book' - ANGELINA JOLIE 'I...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
What If? 10th Anniversary Edition
CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF THE MILLION-SELLING POP SCIENCE CLASSIC WITH A SPECIAL EDITION. THIS IS WHAT IF? . . . x10. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'Nerd royalty' — BEN GOLDACRE 'Totally brilliant' — TIM HARFORD 'Required reading across the world' — NEW YORK TIMES From the creator of the wildly popular xkcd.com, experience hilarious and informative answers to important questions...Hardback$4200Elsewhere:$5000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Anxious Generation
A powerful argument for reclaiming childhood—and all human relationships—from the online world, from the influential social psychologist and international bestselling author. Jonathan Haidt has spent his career speaking truth and wisdom in some of the most difficult spaces—communities polarised by politics and religion, campuses battling culture wars, and now the mental health emergency hitting teenagers today in many countries around...Paperback$2299Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Prisoners of Geography
Prisoners of Geography looks at the past, present, and future to offer crucial insights into one of the major factors that determine world history – because if you don’t know geography, you’ll never have the full picture. Originally published in 2015, this completely revised and updated edition brings it up to date with the events and trends of the past...Paperback$2899Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Booker PrizeOrbital
Winner of the Booker Prize 2024. Chair of the judges, Edmund de Waal, describes the winner as 'a book about a wounded world' adding that the panel's 'unanimity about Orbital recognises its beauty and ambition'. Life on our planet as you've never seen it before. A team of astronauts in the International Space Station collect meteorological data, conduct scientific experiments...Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Diddly Squat: Home to Roost
It's been another memorable year on Diddly Squat Farm - will the chickens finally come home to roost? Welcome back to Clarkson's Farm. The spring crop failed. Farming sheep, pigs, and cows was hardly more lucrative (better off breeding ostriches...) But in the face of uncooperative weather, bureaucracy, and the world's persistent refusal to recognise his genius, our hero's not...Paperback$2600Elsewhere:$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Place of Tides
To save the world, we have to start somewhere. One afternoon many years ago, James Rebanks met an old woman on a remote Norwegian island. She lived and worked alone on a tiny rocky outcrop, caring for wild ducks and gathering their down. Hers was a centuries-old trade that had once made men and women rich, but had long been...Paperback$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Ultra-Processed People
Launching the runaway bestseller with ambitions to be the biggest non-fiction paperback of the year IT'S NOT YOU. IT'S THE FOOD. "If you only read one diet or nutrition book in your life, make it this one" - Bee Wilson "You've got to get this book in your life . . . Completely compelling . . . Read a page...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2800Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Island of Missing Trees
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak is a captivating and poignant novel that delves into the intertwined lives of two star-crossed lovers in war-torn Cyprus and their enduring legacy decades later. This Sunday Times bestselling novel intricately weaves themes of love, loss, and identity amidst a backdrop of cultural and historical turmoil. Set in 1974 on the island...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
Kitchen Confidential
The classic bestseller from the star of Parts Unknown and No Reservations: 25th Anniversary edition, with a new introduction by Irvine Welsh. BEFORE THERE WAS THE BEAR, THERE WAS BOURDAIN. ‘Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantino’ — A.A. Gill ‘Fantastic: as lip-smackingly seductive as a bowl of fat chips and pungent aioli’ — Daily Telegraph After twenty-five years of sex,...Paperback$2500Elsewhere:$2799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
