Ada Yonath, a crystallographer and biochemist, passed away at age 87. She was recognized as a pioneering researcher whose work on the molecular structure of ribosomes earned her the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009, making her only the fourth woman to receive that honor. She shared the prize with biologist Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and biochemist Thomas Steitz.
Yonath’s path to scientific recognition was marked by considerable skepticism from the international scientific community. Many colleagues dismissed her ambitious goal of mapping the ribosome’s structure, given the extreme difficulty posed by the organelle’s small size, irregular shape, and lack of internal symmetry. Even James Watson, a Nobel laureate who had discovered DNA’s structure, had attempted and failed at the task. Despite facing what she later described as disbelief and ridicule, Yonath persisted in her research.
Her breakthrough came from an unconventional source. While recovering from a bicycle accident in the late 1970s, she read about how polar bears naturally pack their ribosomes in an orderly fashion before hibernation, keeping them intact and functional for extended periods. This observation inspired her hypothesis that ribosomes could be crystallized for study using X-ray and electron microscopy. She reasoned that organisms adapted to harsh environments would have more resilient ribosomes capable of surviving the crystallization process. After more than 25,000 attempts, she successfully crystallized thermophile bacteria found in extreme environments. Using cryo bio-crystallography—freezing samples at extremely low temperatures—she ultimately mapped the three-dimensional structure of bacterial ribosomes in 2001 and 2002.
The practical applications of her discovery extended to medical science and pharmaceutical development. Because many antibiotics function by binding to bacterial ribosomes, understanding ribosomal structure allowed researchers to design drugs that targeted pathogens without harming human cells. The Nobel Committee highlighted her work’s contribution to developing novel antibiotics and combating drug resistance among bacteria. Beyond her scientific achievements, Yonath was known for political outspokenness, particularly regarding Israeli governance and policy matters.
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