Naoko Ohta is a Japanese translator of English-language nonfiction on biology, neuroscience, and psychology. Venki Ramakrishnan’s “Gene Machine” follows research into the structure of the ribosome, the cell’s protein-making machinery, through the competition and cooperation of scientists. She also translates Richard Dawkins’s work on genes and evolution. Jonas Olofsson’s account of smell examines how an often-overlooked sense influences memory, emotion, and judgment. Across these books, Ohta introduces scientific findings together with the processes through which they were reached. Her translations connect explanations of living systems with the experiences and behavior of both researchers and the people whose lives those systems shape.
