American scientists Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas A. Steitz, and Ada E. Yonath of Israel won the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome."

"The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2009 awards studies of one of life's core processes: the ribosome's translation of DNA information into life," the Royal Swedish Academy of Science said in a statement.

Ribosomes produce proteins, which in turn control the chemistry in all living organisms. As ribosomes are crucial to life, they are also a major target for new antibiotics, the statement said.

The Nobel Prizes have been awarded annually since 1901 to those who “conferred the greatest benefit on mankind during the preceding year."

Each prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma and a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (1.4 million U.S. dollars).