Book Club: Monday, November 2, 2026, 2-4pm. Fellows and External Fellows – Zoom only event

November 2, 2026,  2-4 pm – Fellows and External Fellows

The Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome by Venki Ramakrishnan (2018)

Discussion Leader: Eaton Lattman

The Gene Machine is part scientific memoir, part history of molecular biology, and part insider account of a fierce scientific race. It has an almost gossipy tone in places. Written by Nobel Prize–winning structural biologist Venki Ramakrishnan, the book tells the story of how scientists uncovered the atomic structure of the ribosome — the cellular machine that reads genetic information and builds proteins. The book spends a lot of time on the uncertainty and insecurity of science— the author was not a prodigy marching confidently toward a Nobel Prize. In fact, one of the book’s strengths is how honestly he describes confusion, professional rivalry, failed experiments, and sheer luck.

A major theme is the tension between the myth of the lone genius and the reality of modern science. Ramakrishnan repeatedly emphasizes that breakthroughs emerge from large communities of researchers building incrementally on one another’s work. He is skeptical of heroic narratives, even while acknowledging that awards like the Nobel Prize inevitably personalize discovery.

In chapter 3 and other sections, the author works hard to explain the technique of x-ray crystallography, which is used to make 3D pictures of molecules both small and large. These can be skipped without taking the reader off the storyline. (Available in all formats; 288 pages)

The link to register is https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/wtC77ZVtsz

The deadline to register is the Monday morning the day of the event at 8 am. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only.

If you have any questions, please contact the organizer, Mary Jane Ashley at maryjane.ashley@utoronto.ca.