Nobel for an Indian, though not anymore
- Thursday, November 5, 2009, 9:44
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), shares this year’s Nobel Prize for Chemistry for describing the structure of ribosomes, the molecules that translate the code of DNA into active proteins in the body, along with Thomas Steitz, of Yale University, and Ada Yonath, of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Their work has led to breakthroughs in the development of antibiotics that disable infections by binding to specific pockets in the ribosome structure of bacteria.
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was born in Chidambaram in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu, India. Moved to Baroda in Gujarat state at the age of three, where he had his schooling, except for spending 1960-61 in Adelaide, Australia. He did his pre-science as well as his B.Sc. in Physics from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India, in 1971 and then his Ph.D. in Physics from Ohio University in 1976. He then spent two years studying biology as a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego while making a transition from theoretical physics to biology. Well, we are indeed proud about his Indian origin but still wish as Dr. Shashi Tharoor said “Wish he still held an Indian passport, though”
