Although the word “ribosome” does not mean anything to most mortals, the truth is thatthis tiny organelle that is part of all our cells is essential for life, and its study has allowed the development of numerous antibiotics. It has also been, for years, the main object of study and obsession of Ada Yonath, a tireless Israeli researcher who has been awarded numerous prizes, including the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 and the L’Oréal-UNESCO “For Women in Science“in 2008. We accompanied her on her way through Madrid.
“When I started my career, the question that most intrigued me was: how do the messages that are in the DNA make to become proteins?”, Yonath explained at the inaugural conference of the Annual Biotechnology Congress held in Madrid, “And I was not the only one who thought that this is the most important biological process “he pointed out.
The answer to Yonath’s question lies in ribosomes, a kind of chain production factories in which, through a perfectly coordinated sequence, the information from our genes is transformed into proteins of all kinds. And what happens inside ribosomes is so important that about 40 percent of the antibiotics we use today “attack” them directly.
At the time when Yonath became interested in ribosomes, they were a kind of black box from which it was thought that no more information could be obtained. Scientists thought that ribosomes did not form crystals , so their interior could not be analyzed using these methods, and Yonath, at first, had no arguments to refute that idea either. However, the researcher insisted on studying them with crystallographic techniques.
How did the inspiration come?
“I was very lucky,” she said with a smile, “I had a very serious bike accident that forced me to spend more than a year and a half recovering. During all that time I read, read and read …”. And, as incredible as it may sound, the inspiration came from consulting an article on polar bears. “In winter, bears sleep, and their ribosomes are perfectly packed inside their cells. If they are densely packed, and in order, they can maintain their activity for months despite their natural tendency to deteriorate in a short time. This indicates that ribosomes they are indeed capable of forming crystals . “
The researcher’s discovery has made it possible to identify new binding sites for different antibiotics and to understand more about the resistances that disease-causing organisms develop against them. But this indefatigable researcher still does not have enough: ” the next step in my research will be to find ways to develop new antibiotics, unravel the origin of ribosomes and even that of life itself ,” she explained in a statement to Very Interesting.
Despite her demanding job, Yonath is a mother and a grandmother, and she considers the words ‘science’, ‘woman’ and ‘family’ to be not incompatible. “The L’Oréal-UNESCO prize is very important,” he explained, “the Nobel Prize even more so … but for me the best prize has been that of ‘Grandmother of the Year’ that my granddaughter gave me.
How has the crisis affected your investigations?
The crisis has not stopped the researcher’s work either: ” I don’t receive much money from any government, ” she told Very Interesting, “and furthermore, the Israeli economy has not suffered as much as the European economy, so I have not noticed it as much. Of course, before I spent 25 percent of my time looking for financing and now I have to use 50 percent, “he added.
Ada Yonath’s presentation was the first of a series of events that will take place at the Complutense University of Madrid between July 18 and 20 within the framework of the VI Congress of the Federation of Biotechnologists , which is sponsored by various institutions and companies like L’Oréal. Topics such as cancer, regenerative medicine, nanotechnology, neuroscience, plant bioengineering and even the industry of the biotechnology sector will be part of the conferences of the experts.
