Ada Yonath
Ada Yonath (born June 22, 1939) is an Israeli crystallographer and biochemist known for her pioneering research on the structure of the ribosome. Using X-ray crystallography, she determined the three-dimensional structure of this complex cellular machinery responsible for protein synthesis. Her discoveries helped explain how many antibiotics function by targeting the ribosome, which has been crucial for the development of new medical treatments. For this work, she was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009. Her research has had a profound impact on structural biology and medicine.
Quotes
- You can always try another approach; even change your subject when a scientific strategy or experiment fails.
- I don't distinguish between men and women. This is irrelevant to me, and I don't think in these terms.
- The ribosome is a machine that gets instructions from the genetic code and operates chemically in order to produce the product.
- I don't walk into the lab in the morning thinking, 'I am a woman, and I will carry out an experiment that will conquer the world.' I am a scientist, not male or female. A scientist.
- People always talk about the implication and applications of a process, but for me, the goal is purely about knowledge. Knowledge can become practical today, in 20 years, or in 500 years. Ask Newton. He didn't know there would be space research based on his accident with the apple.