Prof Ada Yonath, a Nobel laureate in chemistry, recently gave a lecture titled ‘Resistance to Antibiotics and Preserving the Microbiome’ at the University of Macau (UM). The lecture, which was focused on the relationship between genetic code, ribosome, and antibiotics, attracted a full-house audience, including hundreds of UM faculty members and students, and researchers in the related fields.

Prof Yonath discussed how most antibiotics promote antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Her work has not only paved the way for improving existing antibiotics and minimising antibiotics resistance, but has also helped to shed light on the design of new antibiotics that selectively target disease-causing bacteria. While traditional antibiotics wipe out both disease-causing bacteria and good bacteria, advanced antibiotics can protect good bacteria and are therefore more effective in treating diseases.

Born in Jerusalem, Israel, Prof Ada Yonath is an expert in ribosome research, who has successfully revealed the structure and function of the ribosome. She received the Nobel Prize in chemistry, together with two other scientists, in 2009. She is the first female Nobel laureate from Israel in the past decade and the first female Nobel laureate in chemistry in the past 45 years.