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Unless you have been living in a box, you have heard that the 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded for studies relating to the structure and function of the ribosome.

The winners: Ada Yonath, Thomas (Tom) Steitz and Venkatraman (Vanki) Ramakrishnan

The Nobel Prize allows for a maximum of three laureates, but did the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences get it right?

If you have not heard of Harry Noller, he was the first to propose that the ribosome is comprised of RNA. In addition to decades of devoted research, he also published extensively on the topic.

As reported by the NewsDaily.com:
Dr. Jeremy Berg, director of the NIH’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences, stated that “One of the reasons people have been unsure of the ribosome structure as a Nobel prize is that getting down to three people is tricky. Harry Noller of the University of California Santa Cruz has been one of the real leaders of sorting out the biochemistry of the ribosome for a long time.”

Professor Dana Carroll, who hired winner Venkatraman at the Univeristy of Utah was reported to believe that Harry Noller… should share a piece of the honor for his work in ribosome function.

The response across twitter was heartfelt:

The facebook page containing nearly 100 members dedicated to Harry’s Nobel Prize run was devastated.

Harry has been humble saying, “I’ve gotten more recognition than I deserve.”

I have started a new poll (to the right), feel free to give it a click.

What do you think? Is Harry the Rosalind Franklin of the 21st century?

[Results]