Stockholm ( October 5, 2009)- A team of three American researchers have been awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
According to the Royal Academy of Swedish Sciences, the winners, Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak won for major breakthroughs in the study of cell biology.
They have solved “a major problem in biology: how the chromosomes can be copied in a complete way during cell divisions and how they are protected against degradation. The Nobel Laureates have shown that the solution is to be found in the ends of the chromosomes – the telomeres – and in an enzyme that forms them – telomerase,” the Academy said in its press release.
“These discoveries had a major impact within the scientific community. The ageing process has turned out to be complex and it is now thought to depend on several different factors, the telomere being one of them. Research in this area remains intense.
“The discoveries by Blackburn, Greider and Szostak have added a new dimension to our understanding of the cell, shed light on disease mechanisms, and stimulated the development of potential new therapies.”
The three will share a cash prize of 10 million Swedish Kroner.
