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🇮🇱 Israel /Health & Science

Nobel and Israel Prize Laureate Ada Yonath Dies at 87

From Jerusalem Post · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Outcome reported
  • Israeli scientist Ada Yonath, who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the 2002 Israel Prize in Chemistry, died at 87.
  • Yonath led the Ribosome Group at the Weizmann Institute of Science and helped map the ribosome’s structure using X-ray crystallography.
  • The institute said her work transformed understanding of protein production and opened possibilities for combating antibiotic resistance.

Ada Yonath, the Jerusalem-born scientist who became Israel’s first female Nobel laureate, has died at age 87. She won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 and the Israel Prize in Chemistry in 2002.

Yonath worked at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, where she led its Ribosome Group in the Structural Biology and Chemistry Department. Her research focused on ribosomes, cellular structures that produce proteins by translating genetic information into chains of amino acids.

Beginning in the 1970s, Yonath pursued the difficult task of mapping the ribosome’s structure. In 2000, she and other researchers succeeded in determining its structure, which consists of hundreds of thousands of atoms, using X-ray crystallography. The work helped advance antibiotic production and research into antibiotic resistance.

Professor Yonath is an example and a role model for how scientific vision, courage in choosing a great scientific question, and dedication to a goal can lead to tremendous success and expand the boundaries of knowledge for the future of all humanity. May her memory be a blessing.

— Weizmann Institute of ScienceThe institute paid tribute to Yonath after her death.

Yonath was the daughter of Polish immigrants. After her father died, her family moved to Tel Aviv. She studied chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, completing her bachelor’s degree in 1962 and her master’s degree in 1964, before earning a doctorate from the Weizmann Institute in 1968.

She joined the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities in 2000 and the US National Academy of Sciences in 2003. The Weizmann Institute praised her scientific vision, courage and determination, saying her ribosome research expanded understanding of one of life’s fundamental processes.

Ada was an exceptional scientist who never hesitated to choose a path that others considered impossible and to pursue it for decades with determination, curiosity and courage.

— Weizmann Institute of ScienceThe institute described Yonath’s approach to her research.
About this summary

Originally published by Jerusalem Post in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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