Research Prof. Avram Hershko and Research Prof. Aaron Ciechanover of the Technion are the winners of the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. They won the prestigious award together with Prof. Irwin Rose from the University of California at Irvine. Profs. Hershko and Ciechanover, from the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion, are the first researchers to describe the ubiquitin system, which is responsible for breaking down proteins inside the cell, and thereby led to a breakthrough in the study of cancer, degenerative brain diseases, and many other diseases. Their discovery fundamentally changed the scientific understanding of intracellular processes. The president of the Technion, Prof. Yitzhak Apeloig, expressed great pride and satisfaction on behalf of the entire Technion for the historical achievement of the Technion scientists. “This is a certificate of honor for Israeli science in general and the Technion in particular,” he said. Aaron Ciechanover was a student of Prof. Hershko and together they managed to reach the breakthrough that earned them the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Both are winners of the Israel Prize.