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Thomas A. Steitz
1940–2018 · United States · Born 1940 or later
Nobel Chemistry 2009
American biochemist who solved the structure of the ribosome, the cell's protein-synthesis machine, at atomic resolution.
Nobel-winning work
Determined the atomic structures of the large ribosomal subunit and of the whole ribosome by X-ray crystallography, revealing that peptide-bond formation is catalyzed by RNA rather than protein. The structures explained how the genetic code is translated and how many antibiotics block bacterial protein synthesis.
Fields
Related topics
Replication, transcription, translation
Cells copy genetic material, transcribe selected DNA segments into RNA, and translate messenger RNA into polypeptides.
Cryo-EM, protein crystallography
Structural biologists infer molecular architecture from scattered electrons or X-ray diffraction, with distinct sample preparation and data-processing limits.