By Xie Fang
In a recent exclusive interview with the China Fortune Media, Ada Yonath, a 79-years-old Israeli female chemist, told this journalist that her best advice for young scientists was “don't ask for advice."
In 2009, Prof. Yonath won the Noble Prize in Chemistry along with two other scientists for their pioneering work in the mapping of the structure of ribosome, a complex molecular machine that serves as the site of biological protein synthesis.
When answering the question from this journalist about the successful application of her groundbreaking work in the development of new-type antibiotics, Prof. Yonath acknowledged that she didn’t anticipate any practical application of her research findings when she started her research.
“At the very beginning, I just wanted to understand how these genetic codes were being translated,” said Prof. Yonath.
From her perspective, the addition of every new scientific discovery to the mountain of human knowledge is already a kind of application. “In general, the purpose of my scientific research is to find out the nature of pathogens which is critical to combating bacteria,” said Prof. Yonath.
Prof. Yonath has made multiple visits to China in recent years and is cooperating with several Chinese universities like Sichuan University in the research of antibiotics. She was very impressed by the progress China has made in its biopharmaceutical industry, saying that “the progress is fantastic.”
“Not only the pharmaceutical industry, China has also made fantastic progress in other areas such as technological innovation, economics and education,” she added.
When discussing how to create a favorable environment for scientific research in China, Prof. Yonath stressed that it should be left to scientists to decide how to spend the research funding. “It will not be as good for science if such decisions are eventually made by the government or the business community,” she said.
Also, Prof. Yonath pointed out the importance of learning English to the scientific research. “The English level of many Chinese students and professors is not good enough,” she said. “English may not be a nice language, but all of the scientific research is done in English.”
“Just like China, Israel is not an English-speaking country, either.” Prof. Jonath continued. “But, all the lectures, exams and reports that are related to scientific research in Israel are all done in English.”
As a Noble Prize-winning scientist, Prof. Jonath also shared with this journalist her views on what it takes to achieve success in one’s scientific career.
From her point of view, curiosity and perseverance are among the most valuable qualities a good scientist should possess.
What’s more, according to Prof. Jonath, asking for advice might not be a virtue in the scientific research. “The best advice I can give is don’t ask for advice,” she said.
She thought that the advice from accomplished scientists was not often helpful for young scientists
“Life is different for every individual,” Prof. Jonath concluded. “One should ask himself or herself about what he or she really wants to know.”
