The Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been won by three scientists - Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz from the US, and Ada Yonath from Israel - for depicting the manner of functioning of the life-giving ribosome, the protein producer, at the atomic level.

The three scientists won the coveted prize on Wednesday for their momentous 'atom-by-atom' map of the countless atoms that comprise the mystifying ribosome, using a method called 'X-ray crystallography.'

The Nobel Prize comprises a 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.4 million) award, along with a diploma and a medal. The accomplished winners are also invited to the prize ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, which marks the death anniversary of award founder Alfred Nobel.

Noting that the achievements of these three scientists would be decisive for the development of new antibiotics, a statement by the Nobel Committee for Chemistry at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said: "As ribosomes are crucial to life, they are also a major target for new antibiotics," which can cure a number of diseases by obstructing the function of bacterial ribosomes.

Incidentally, the Israeli scientist Ada Yonath happens to be the fourth woman ever to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and the first since UK's Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin won it in 1964 for her work using "X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances."