Ada Yonath, Nobel Prize-winning Israeli chemist, dies at 87

Ada Yonath, the renowned Israeli chemist and 2009 Nobel Prize winner, has died at the age of 87. Her passing was announced by the Weizmann Institute of Science, where she conducted her pioneering research for decades.

Yonath was celebrated for her groundbreaking work on the structure and function of the ribosome, the molecular machine responsible for translating genetic code into proteins. Her research, which involved approximately 25,000 attempts to produce ribosome crystals, provided critical insights into how antibiotics interact with bacteria. This work has been fundamental in the development of advanced antibiotics and the ongoing fight against antibiotic resistance.

As the first Israeli woman to receive a Nobel Prize, Yonath’s career was marked by significant perseverance. Born in Jerusalem in 1939, she overcame early financial hardships to become a leading figure in structural biology. In addition to the Nobel Prize, she received numerous honors, including the Israel Prize and the Wolf Prize in Chemistry.