Ribosomes as Molecular Energy Machines

The idea that ribosomes operate as biological molecular energy machines offers an alternative description to that based on the assumption that the functionally important motions in ribosomes are only coupled to thermal degrees of freedom. The alternative model assumes that the energy gained in GTP cleavage generates in the ribosomal complex a localized metastable region temporarily not interacting with thermal motions. The metastable region may move along a definite pathway and in distinct sites promote irreversible logical operations involved in polypeptide biosynthesis. The new alternative represents a more complex and advanced algorithm offering advantages in speed, accuracy, more sophisticated control, and better resistance to various kinds of noise.