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Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine 2019
Megan Specia and Michael Wolgelenter
Oct. 7, 2019
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to Gregg L. Semenza, Peter J. Ratcliffe and William G. Kaelin Jr. on Monday.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to three scientists — William G. Kaelin Jr., Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza — for their work on how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability. The Nobel Assembly announced the prize at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on Monday.
Why did they win?
The work of the three men “identified the molecular machinery that regulates the activity of genes in response to varying levels of oxygen,” according to the Nobel Assembly, which described it as a major addition to the scientific understanding of the importance of oxygen to animals.
While the role of oxygen in the process of converting food into useful energy has long been understood, the assembly said, the way that cells adapt to changing oxygen levels remained unknown.
The men discovered how cells can sense and adapt to the changes in oxygen availability and identified the components that regulate how genes respond to oxygen levels.
Why is the work important?
The discoveries — some of which date back to the mid 1990s — have proved fundamentally important for physiology and shed light on the previously unknown mechanics of how cells respond to changes in their environment. The work established a new basis for understanding cellular metabolism and physiological function, and enhanced understanding of the body’s metabolism, immune response and ability to adapt to exercise.
This work has paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and many other diseases. Randall Johnson, a member of the Nobel Assembly, described the work as a “textbook discovery” and said it would be something students would start learning at the most basic levels of biology education.
“This is a basic aspect of how a cell works, and I think from that standpoint alone it’s a very exciting thing,” Mr. Johnson said.
Who are the winners?
Professor Kaelin established his own research lab at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and became a full professor at Harvard Medical School in 2002, the committee said, and he has been an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, based in Maryland, since 1998.
Professor Ratcliffe is the director of clinical research at the Francis Crick Institute in London, the director of the Target Discovery Institute in Oxford, and a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. The Nobel Prize Twitter account posted a photo of Professor Ratcliffe writing a grant proposal on Monday, after learning of his award.
Professor Semenza became a full professor at Johns Hopkins University in 1999, and he has been the director of the Vascular Research Program at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering since 2003.
Who won the 2018 Nobel for medicine?
The prize last year went to James P. Allison of the United States and Tasuku Honjo of Japan for their work on immunotherapy, or unleashing the body’s immune system to attack cancer. This breakthrough has resulted in an entirely new class of drugs and brought lasting remissions to many patients who had run out of options.
When will the other Nobel Prizes be announced?
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/health/nobel-prize-medicine.html
Megan Specia and Michael Wolgelenter
Oct. 7, 2019
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to Gregg L. Semenza, Peter J. Ratcliffe and William G. Kaelin Jr. on Monday.
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to three scientists — William G. Kaelin Jr., Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza — for their work on how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability. The Nobel Assembly announced the prize at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on Monday.
Why did they win?
The work of the three men “identified the molecular machinery that regulates the activity of genes in response to varying levels of oxygen,” according to the Nobel Assembly, which described it as a major addition to the scientific understanding of the importance of oxygen to animals.
While the role of oxygen in the process of converting food into useful energy has long been understood, the assembly said, the way that cells adapt to changing oxygen levels remained unknown.
The men discovered how cells can sense and adapt to the changes in oxygen availability and identified the components that regulate how genes respond to oxygen levels.
Why is the work important?
The discoveries — some of which date back to the mid 1990s — have proved fundamentally important for physiology and shed light on the previously unknown mechanics of how cells respond to changes in their environment. The work established a new basis for understanding cellular metabolism and physiological function, and enhanced understanding of the body’s metabolism, immune response and ability to adapt to exercise.
This work has paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and many other diseases. Randall Johnson, a member of the Nobel Assembly, described the work as a “textbook discovery” and said it would be something students would start learning at the most basic levels of biology education.
“This is a basic aspect of how a cell works, and I think from that standpoint alone it’s a very exciting thing,” Mr. Johnson said.
Who are the winners?
Professor Kaelin established his own research lab at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and became a full professor at Harvard Medical School in 2002, the committee said, and he has been an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, based in Maryland, since 1998.
Professor Ratcliffe is the director of clinical research at the Francis Crick Institute in London, the director of the Target Discovery Institute in Oxford, and a member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. The Nobel Prize Twitter account posted a photo of Professor Ratcliffe writing a grant proposal on Monday, after learning of his award.
Professor Semenza became a full professor at Johns Hopkins University in 1999, and he has been the director of the Vascular Research Program at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering since 2003.
Who won the 2018 Nobel for medicine?
The prize last year went to James P. Allison of the United States and Tasuku Honjo of Japan for their work on immunotherapy, or unleashing the body’s immune system to attack cancer. This breakthrough has resulted in an entirely new class of drugs and brought lasting remissions to many patients who had run out of options.
When will the other Nobel Prizes be announced?
- The Nobel Prize in Physics will be announced on Tuesday in Sweden. Read about last year’s winners, Arthur Ashkin, Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland.
- The Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced on Wednesday in Sweden. Read about last year’s winners, Frances H. Arnold, George P. Smith and Gregory P. Winter.
- The 2018 and 2019 Nobel Prizes in Literature will be announced on Thursday in Sweden. The prize last year was postponed after the husband of an academy member was accused, and ultimately convicted, of rape — a crisis that led to the departure of several board members and required the intervention of the king of Sweden. Read about 2017’s winner, Kazuo Ishiguro.
- The Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday in Norway. Read about last year’s winners, Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege.
- The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science will be announced Monday next week in Sweden. Read about last year’s winners, William Nordhaus and Paul Romer.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/07/health/nobel-prize-medicine.html
