FEATURED JOBS
Comments (0)Seven renowned scientists are the winners of the prestigious Wolf Prizes.
The $100,000 prizes, which will be presented in May by Israeli President Shimon Peres during a special Knesset session, were announced Monday in Jerusalem by Israeli Minister of Education and Wolf Foundation Council Chair Gideon Sa’ar.
The prize for medicine was awarded to Professor Axel Ullrich of Germany for groundbreaking cancer research that has led to the development of innovative drugs, among them Receptin, for treatment of women with metastatic breast cancer.
Sir David Baulcombe, Cambridge University, England, was named in agriculture for research in which he demonstrated how plants defend themselves against viral attack, through a mechanism known as “gene silencing.”
The mathematics prize is being shared by Professor Shing-Tung Yau of Harvard University and Professor Dennis Sullivan of Stony Brook University in New York. Yau was recognized for his work in geometric analysis that has had a profound and dramatic impact on many areas of geometry and physics, while Sullivan’s innovative contributions to algebraic topology and conformal dynamics were noted.
Three scientists will share the physics prize: Professor John Clauser of J. F. Clauser & Associates, United States; Professor Alain Aspect, Institut d’Optique, Campus Polytechnique, France; and Professor Anton Zeilinger, University of Vienna and the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.
Since 1978, the Wolf Prize has been awarded 27 times to 253 scientists and artists from 23 countries, including 18 from Israel, for “achievements in the interest of mankind and friendly relations among peoples, irrespective of nationality, race, color, religion, sex, or political view.”
The Israel-based Wolf Foundation was established by the late German-born inventor, diplomat and philanthropist Dr. Ricardo Wolf, who served as the Cuban ambassador to Israel from 1961 to 1973.
Turkey Vows to Stop Anti-Semitism
Turkey is committed to preventing anti-Semitism, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in commemorating the 65th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
“Condemning the Holocaust as the most grave and unprecedented crime against humanity throughout history, taking necessary precautions to prevent genocides in the future and promoting the endeavors to educate new generations are not only a duty of every member state of the U.N. but also an obligation to humanity,” said a statement issued Wednesday by the Turkish Foreign Ministry . “Stemming from its belief in mutual understanding, tolerance, freedom, security and democracy, Turkey is resolute to continue its stance to prevent anti-Semitism, racism, xenophobia and discrimination.”
Tensions between Israel and Turkey, long simmering over the Islamist government’s tilt toward Iran and Arab nations, as well as Turkish concerns over Israel’s conduct during last winter’s Gaza war, exploded last month when Israel’s deputy foreign minister embarrassed the Turkish ambassador over an anti-Semitic series on Turkish television.
Turkey recalled the envoy after revelations that Danny Ayalon deliberately humiliated the Turkish envoy by scowling, refusing to shake his hand and offering him a low seat.
Warrant Issued for Auschwitz Theft Mastermind
A Polish court has issued a European-wide warrant for the arrest of a Swedish man suspected of ordering the theft of the famous Auschwitz sign.
The warrant, issued Tuesday, is for Anders Hogstrom, a former Swedish neo-Nazi, according to reports. Hogstrom is suspected of ordering five Polish men, who have been arrested by local authorities, to steal the metal sign reading “Arbeit macht frei” from the front gate of the former concentration camp, now a memorial.
Hogstrom reportedly acted as an agent for a British Nazi sympathizer who wanted the sign.
The warrant requires authorities in the 27 member states of the European Union to arrest Hogstrom and turn him over to the Polish authorities.
The 16-foot metal sign, which means “work makes you free,” was stolen Dec. 18 and recovered across the country 72 hours later.
Experts are working to restore the sign, which had been cut into three pieces. It is not certain that the sign will be returned to its place; a copy was placed at the front gate immediately after the theft.
Some 1.1 million people, including about 1 million Jews, were murdered at Auschwitz.