George Church has made an artificial ribosome that successfully produces proteins, reports Technology Review. Church and his postdoc, Mike Jewitt, broke ribosomes from E. coli down to their component parts and then used enzymes to put all the proteins and RNA back together. They then used the reconstituted ribosome to produce luciferase. Next, they plan to make a ribosome that can reproduce itself, as well as make it more efficient and process molecules of different chirality. Tech Review adds that an artificial ribosome is a key step to creating artificial life.