Nobel Prize Scientist Rita Levi-Montalcini Dies Aged 103

 

Biologist Rita Levi-Montalcini, who conducted underground research in defiance of Fascist persecution and went on to win a Nobel Prize for helping unlock the mysteries of the cell, has died at her home in Rome aged 103. Mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno, made the announcement in a statement today.

Italy's so-called "Lady of the Cells", a Jew who lived through anti-Semitic discrimination and the Nazi invasion, became one of her country's leading scientists and shared the Nobel medicine prize for her groundbreaking research in the United States. Her research increased the understanding of many conditions, including tumours, developmental malformations, and senile dementia.
In 2001, Italy honored Levi-Montalcini by making her a senator-for-life.