Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded to Three Scientists for Oxygen Research

Three scientists have shared this year's Nobel prize in physiology or medicine for discovering how the body reacts to changes in oxygen levels, one of the essential processes for life.

William G. Kaelin and Gregg. L. Semanza and Briton Peter J. Ratcliffe, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine on Monday.

‘Three scientists who learned how cells react to oxygen levels win Nobel Prize in medicine. The findings could open the door to new ways of tackling anemia and cancer, among other diseases. ’

With their work, they were able to understand how oxygen levels affect cell metabolism and physiological function.

Their discoveries could pave the way in the development of new strategies to fight anemia, cancer, and other diseases, according to the institute.

Kaelin, born in New York in 1957, is a specialist in internal medicine and oncology.

Semenza, born in 1955 and also a New Yorker, is a pediatrician.

And Ratcliffe was born in Lancashire in 1954 and is an expert in nephrology, a medicine specializing in kidneys.

The announcement in Medicine kicks off this year" s prestigious awards, which will be followed in the coming days by prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Literature, Peace and Economics.

This edition will see two prizes in Literature being announced as an exception, like last year" s were postponed owing to allegations of sexual abuse within the Swedish Academy.

The awards will be presented on December 10, the anniversary of the death of its founder Alfred Nobel, in a double ceremony at the Konserthus in Stockholm and Oslo City Hall, for the Peace Prize.

All prizes include a cash prize, which this year amounts to 9 million Swedish kronor ($912,000).

Source: IANS