Ribosomes, the universal cellular machines for translation of the genetic code into the cellular workers, namely the proteins, possess spectacular architecture accompanied by inherent mobility, allowing for their smooth performance as polymerases. The site for the creation of the newly born proteins is located within a universally conserved internal semi-symmetrical region. The high conservation of this region implies its existence irrespective of environmental conditions and indicates that it may represent a remnant of an ancient, prebiotic RNA machine. Hence, it could be the kernel around which life originated. The mechanistic and genetic applications of this finding will be discussed.