The prize will be awarded to ten scientists from the USA, Germany and Japan, who contributed their research to the benefit of all humanity * Before the ceremony, it was announced that: since it was established in 1978 and until today, 30% of the winners of the Wolf Prize have been Jewish (76 out of 262 winners), however, only seven women have won the prize , the last one was Ada Yonat in 2007
Today, Sunday, at 17:30 PM, the President of the State, Shimon Peres, together with the Minister of Education, Gideon Sa'ar, in a state ceremony in the Knesset, will award the 2011 Wolf Prizes to leading scientists from around the world for their contribution to the advancement of science for the benefit of all mankind. The Wolf Prize is considered in the world of international science to be the second most prestigious after the Nobel Prize, and indeed, in the last week, the international media multiplied to report on the close ceremony.
The Wolf Prizes have been awarded annually since 1978 from the estate of Dr. Ricardo Wolf, an inventor, diplomat and philanthropist, a Jew born in Germany, who served in the 100,000s as Cuban ambassador to Israel. The prizes of $XNUMX per field are awarded to five fields of science, according to the principle of rotation which states that every year one field will be awarded: medicine, chemistry, physics, mathematics and agriculture, and to one field of art according to rotation: architecture, music and painting and sculpture.
This year's prize winner in painting and sculpture is the German artist Rosemary Trokel, who announced that she will not come to Israel due to medical reasons. The directors of the fund stated that she would therefore not be able to receive the award this year, and that she is invited to come to Israel next year and receive the award at the state ceremony in the Knesset of 2012. By the way, before canceling her arrival in Israel, Trukel said that she would donate about half of the winning amount to Giuliano's theater group Mr. After he was murdered, Blau canceled her arrival in Israel.
This year, 10 scientists from the USA, Japan and Germany receive the awards in the fields of: medicine, physics, chemistry and agriculture.
Among the winners this year are two researchers in the field of medicine, who are considered in the world of international science as almost certain candidates for the Nobel Prize in the future. The two are: Prof. Shania Yamaneka from Japan, from the Center for Stem Cell Research at Kyoto University and Prof. German Rudolph Jainisch from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA.
Prof. Shinya Yemanke was able to identify four genes with extraordinary properties, the introduction of which into the skin cells results in unlimited differentiation potential. That is: for the re-production of body cells.
Based on the discovery, Dr. Jainisch Rudolph proved that sick mice can be cured using these 4 genes. The two groundbreaking studies laid the foundations for research work currently being carried out in hundreds of laboratories around the world to identify gene therapy methods, the treatment of cancer diseases, the treatment of diseases of the immune system and organ transplants.
This year's other prize winners in the fields of physics, chemistry and agriculture also broke scientific ground and some of them will probably win the Nobel Prize in the coming years.
Among other things, Prof. A. Levin, one of the two scientists to win this year's Wolf Prize in Agriculture, who became famous in the science community as the one who discovered the quantitative gene for milk production in cattle and as the one who succeeded in deciphering the gene map in cattle and comparing it to other animals. As part of his research, Prof.
Observe the sequence of the genome in cattle and how changes in the various genes affect the properties of the milk from the cattle (protein components, changes in fat levels, etc.). His scientific work has far-reaching consequences for global agriculture: for the attempts to increase the yield of high-quality milk in cattle and perhaps in the future also in other breeds, and for the understanding of how it is possible to increase the resistance of cattle to diseases.
30% of the winners to date - Jews! Slightly above the Nobel Prize statistics
Ahead of the ceremony in the Knesset tomorrow, the management of the Wolf Foundation, based in Herzliya, publishes amazing details about the identity of the winners of the Wolf Prize to date.
Since 1978, 262 Wolf Prizes have been awarded. 76 winners, 30% of all winners are Jewish! (Although professional international committees choose the winners according to professional criteria only). By the way, the statistics of the Nobel Prize in Science also show that about a quarter of the winners are Jews.
Most of the winners, 101 winners out of 262, were between the ages of 70 and 61. Up to the age of 40 - only two won the Wolf Prize. Between the ages: 41-50 there were: 16 winners. Between the ages: 51 - 60 there were: 64 winners. Between the ages of 90 and 71 there were: 77 winners. Over the age of 90 - two winners. The oldest winner to receive the Wolf Prize to date is: Marc Chagall, who in 1981 was announced as the winner of the prize in art (painting and sculpture), at the age of 94. The youngest winner was Prof. Gerard Hoft from the Netherlands, who at the age of 35 was announced as the winner of the Wolf Prize in Physics in 1981 as well.
Only 2.5% of the winners were... women. An unimaginable figure, which stands in contrast to the fact that women are members of the award's international selection committees. By the way, one of the women who won is: Prof. Ada Yonath.
It was also found that the USA is the dominant power in the world of science, and also England and Israel - provided winners in very impressive numbers!.
About half of the winners to date are American!! 136 winners from the USA out of 262 Wolf Prize winners to date. From England - there were 26 winners! From Israel - 18 winners!
From France - 17, from Germany - 11, from Japan - 8, from Italy - 7, from Canada - 5, from Sweden - 4, from Belgium - 4, Switzerland - 5, the USSR - 4, the Netherlands - 4, Austria - 2, Spain - 2 Philippines – 1, Portugal – 1, Hungary – 1, Poland – 1, Denmark: 1, Georgia: 1, China: 1, from India: 1, from Russia: 1.
