You are just some Ribosome I used to know, Gah!
On to the Cell. Any idea about the size of Ribosomes in Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells? You prolly already knew that the size of Ribosome for Prokaryotic cells are slightly smaller than those of Eukaryotic; 70S and 80S repectively. Non-SI Unit "S" represents the Svedberg unit but what does that really represent? How 'bout SUCKER?@! Now what's a Ribosome? These are comples molecular structures that serve as the site for Protein Synthesis. Now what is "S" in 70S/80S? "S" represents the Svedberg unit, a non-SI unit for sedimentation rate. This is the rate at which particles of a given size and shape travel to the bottom of a tube under centrifugal force. This reflects the rate at which a molecule sediments under the centrifugal force of a centrifuge, where sediment refer to the break down into smaller particles. What? What??? It simply represents the size of the subunits that make the Ribosome structure.
Credits to Biochem students Carlos, Shenelle, Liniker, Latisha, et. al
As ribosomal particles were first isolated from cell lysates by ultracentrifugation, the ribosomes and their sub-particles were named according to their sedimentation characteristics during centrifugation. The sedimentation properties of a particle depend on its molecular size and geometrical shape. The sedimentation characteristics also depend on the physical properties of the solution through which the particle is sedimenting.”
So now I understand what is the Svedberg unit and I know the guy who discovered it too. Swedish chemist Theodor Svedberg(1884-1971). I wonder if he does facebook hmm.
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