Ada Yonath obituary: Crystallographer who overcame ‘impossible’ challenge of mapping the ribosome0

• SCIENCE, Science / Health, Science Mission Directorate, scientists, Space, Space Communications & Navigation Program, Space Launch System (SLS), Space Telescope, space-x-ipo, SpaceX
• September 7, 2026

Credit: Micheline Pelletier/Corbis/Getty Grit and determination feature in most scientific careers, but the Israeli structural biologist Ada Yonath surmounted more obstacles than most. Yonath was the first to grow crystals suitable for X-ray analysis that would reveal the structure of the ribosome — a macromolecular complex that functions as a factory for proteins in living