Venkatraman Ramakrishnan has been jointly awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions in

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was jointly awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada E. Yonath for their groundbreaking studies on the structure and function of the ribosome [t1][t2]. Using X-ray crystallography, Ramakrishnan's research specifically focused on the small 30S ribosomal subunit [t4][t5]. His work was instrumental in identifying the 'molecular ruler' mechanism within the ribosome, which ensures the high fidelity of protein synthesis by checking the fit between the mRNA codon and tRNA anticodon [t5]. This mechanism prevents errors during translation, ensuring that the correct amino acids are incorporated into the growing protein chain. While Ada Yonath pioneered the crystallization of ribosomal subunits [t4], Ramakrishnan's specific contribution highlighted the structural basis for the ribosome's accuracy. Other options refer to the 2008 Nobel Prize for Green Fluorescent Protein [t1][t6] or general ribosomal crystallization efforts.