Ribosome biogenesis and translation can be simplified as the processes of generating ribosomes and their use for decoding mRNA into a protein. Ribosome biogenesis has been efficiently studied in unicellular organisms like the budding yeast, allowing us a deep and basic knowledge of this process in growing cells. Translation has been modeled in vitro and in unicellular organisms. These studies have given us an important insight on the mechanisms and evolutionarily conserved aspects of ribosome biology. However, we advocate the need of the direct study of these processes in multicellular organisms. Analysis of ribosome biogenesis and translation, in vivo, in Metazoa and mammalian models is emerging and unveils the unexpected consequences of perturbed ribosome biogenesis and translation. Here we will describe how one factor, eIF6, plays a crucial role both in the generation of the large ribosomal subunit and its availability for translation. From there we will make specific conclusions on the physiological relevance of eIF6 in 80S formation, cell cycle progression and disease, raising the point that the control of gene expression may occur at the unexpected level of the large ribosomal subunit. In the future, the modulation of eIF6 binding to the 60S may be pharmacologically exploited to reduce the growth of cancer cells or ameliorate the phenotype of SDS syndrome. © 2011 Landes Bioscience.