The ribosome as a drug target

The elucidation of the crystal structure of the ribosome and its subunits has dramatically increased our understanding of this organelle and the molecular interactions that determine its functional capabilities. Two recent publications, one on the structure of the bacterial ribosome at 3.5 Å resolution and one on the identification of functionally relevant sites within the small subunit rRNA, illustrate the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in exploiting the ribosome as a drug target.