Israeli scientist Ada E. Yonath, who is on a visit to India in a Crystallography event, has said that a profound respect for knowledge is a key characteristic among Israeli citizens and this has resulted in the high number of Nobel prize winners in the tiny nation.

Ms. Yonath is here to participate in the National Crystallography Colloquium, organised by the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology, and Environment. She was shunned by the scientific community when she said that she is aiming to determine the structure of a cellular component called ribosomes.

But her persistence paid off in mid-1980s when she received the breakthrough and she was then awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2009. Recounting her struggle, she said that she was born in an underprivileged family in Jerusalem. After her passed away when she was 11, she had to switch between multiple jobs and her education to support her family.

"It was much more difficult than tackling any scientific problem. Maybe this is what gave me some power and the will to persist despite the daunting challenges I was faced with once I entered the

field," she said.