A biologist, Professor Ciechanover is Nobel laureate in Chemistry in 2004 for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation. In this interview, he discusses the role of this key molecule and the studies that led him to this ground-breaking discovery in various fields of medicine. By interpreting religion as a fundamental part of human culture, he stresses the importance of failure in scientific research and the idea of science as a path of knowledge, not just as a goal to be achieved.