Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2008
The 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Harold zur Hausen for the discovery of the human papillomavirus connection with cervical cancer and Francoise Barre-Sinussi and Luc Montagnier for the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus.
The first half of the prize – 5 million Swedish kronor – went to the German virologist Harold zur Hausen, who works at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. In 1974, he, contrary to the dogma that existed at that time, suggested that the cause of cervical cancer, at least in some cases, is the papilloma virus.
With the help of genetic analysis of cancer cells, he isolated sections of viral DNA that existed in these cells in an inactive state. Genetic analysis also showed that the papilloma virus is a heterogeneous family of viruses, only a part of which cause cancer. The discovery led to an understanding of the causes of infection with the virus, as well as the cellular mechanisms by which viruses can cause cancer. The most important practical consequence of the work of SDG Hausen was the emergence of mass preventive vaccination programs against the human papillomavirus.
The second half of the prize was divided equally (2.5 million Swedish crowns each) by Frenchmen Francoise Barre-Sinussi and Luc Montagnier. They isolated the human immunodeficiency virus – HIV, having found a retrovirus actively multiplying in enlarged lymph nodes of patients at an early stage of AIDS. The same virus – the first human lentivirus infection known to science – was also detected in the blood of patients at a late stage of the disease. Bar-Sinoussi and Montagnier described the morphological, biochemical and immunological properties of the virus and found that its immunosuppressive effect is associated with extremely active reproduction in lymphocytes and the damage caused by this to these cells. It was thanks to this work that the biology of the disease became clear and the search for ways to treat the disease began.
Barre-Sinussi became the eighth woman in history to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Traditionally, the Nobel Week opens with the announcement of the prize winners in the field of physiology and medicine, who are determined by the Stockholm Karolinska Institute and the Swedish Academy of Sciences. This year the secretary of the Nobel Committee in Physiology and Medicine is Hans Jernvall.
Last year, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Americans Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithtis and Briton Martin Evans. They received a prize for experiments with stem cells, which resulted in the creation of lines of so-called knockout mice - rodents devoid of a particular gene. Among almost 10 thousand lines, about half a thousand are used in modeling various gene diseases.
In 2008, the amount of the award was 10 million kronor (about 1.02 million euros). The nominal value of the award has not changed for the last eight years.
Nobel prizes have been awarded since 1901. In accordance with the will of Alfred Nobel, every year in October the Nobel Committee announces the laureates who have "brought the greatest benefit to humanity" in the fields of physiology and medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace consolidation.
Since 1968, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics has also been awarded, which is financed by a Swedish bank. The prizes will be awarded on Nobel Memorial Day, December 10. All prizes are awarded in Stockholm, except for the Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, the capital of Norway, whose Parliament (Storting) appoints a commission that determines the winner.
The last time Russians received the Nobel Prize was in 2003. Academicians Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg, who works in Moscow, and Alexey Alekseevich Abrikosov, who works in the USA, became laureates of the prize in physics.
Russians received the physiology and medicine Award twice. Russian Nobel laureate Ivan Petrovich Pavlov became the first Russian Nobel laureate in 1904 for his work on the physiology of digestion. In 1908, exactly one hundred years ago, Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov received the prize for immunity research (together with Paul Ehrlich).
"Newspaper.Ru»Portal "Eternal youth"
06.10.2008