Overview
- The Weizmann Institute announced the death of Prof. Ada Yonath, who led sustained ribosome research and remained active in science until near the end of her life.
- Yonath carried out roughly 25,000 experiments before producing the first ribosome crystals and developed cryo-bio-crystallography to preserve fragile crystals during X-ray analysis.
- Teams she led and collaborated with solved the three-dimensional structures of bacterial ribosome subunits, allowing direct visualization of drug binding sites.
- Her structural maps showed how many antibiotics bind the bacterial ribosome and clarified molecular routes by which bacteria can develop resistance, guiding new drug research.
- Yonath received major honors including the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Israel Prize, and she leaves an institutional legacy in Israel and a personal legacy as a mentor and role model; she is survived by her daughter and a granddaughter.