Yale hails U.S. Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureates

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Yale University hailed Wednesday the achievements of Professor Thomas Steitz, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry with two other scientists for creating detailed blueprints of the protein-making machinery within cells, research that's being used to develop new antibiotics.

All three used a technology called X-ray crystallography to map the position for each and every one of the hundreds of thousands of atoms that make up the ribosome. While the work began as a quest to answer basic questions about the makeup of ribosomes, knowledge of its structure has created targets for a new generation of antibiotics.

"Tom Steitz's relentless pursuit to solve a puzzle at the very foundation of biology inspires us, not only by its intellectual rigor, but also by its potential for the treatment of infectious diseases," said Yale President Richard C. Levin. "His work is a compelling example of how a quest to answer fundamental questions about life processes can lead to dramatic benefits for mankind."

However, Steitz saw the Prize as a great recognition to both him and his research team.

"A great number of people work together (in my team). Each makes extraordinary important contribution. I'm very grateful for them," Steitz told Xinhua in a telephone interview.

The professor felt "very excited" while getting a call from Stockholm, where the Nobel jury announced this year's Nobel Prize winners. "It is always a pleasure to be appreciated. Everybody feels that way."

Steitz said it's a surprise for him to get the prize. "A number of people suggest that is going to happen. But the question is you never know whether or when that's going to happen. Maybe it should happen, it might happen, but that doesn't mean it does happen. So it's always a surprise."

The instruction manual for the creation of proteins is DNA, but the ribosome is the machine that translates the encoded information to turn it into proteins. Steitz's work has elucidated the structure and function of the ribosome, an enormously complex ensemble of numerous protein and RNA components.