Three scientists William Kaelin Jr., Sir Peter Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza have been jointly awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for ” Physiology or Medicine for their pioneering research into how human cells respond to changing oxygen levels.”
Announcing the prize at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm on October 7, 2019, the Nobel committee said that the trio’s discoveries have paved the way for “promising new strategies to fight anaemia, cancer and many other diseases.”
AS per the Nobel Prize Committee, this year’s Nobel Laureates revealed the mechanism for one of life’s most essential adaptive processes. They established the basis for our understanding of how oxygen levels affect cellular metabolism and physiological function. Their discoveries have also paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and many other diseases .
Some facts about Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine
- 110 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded between 1901 and 2019.
- 12 women have been awarded the Medicine Prize so far.
- 32 years was the age of the youngest Medicine Laureate ever, Frederick G. Banting, who was awarded the 1923 Medicine Prize for the discovery of insulin.
- 87 years was the age of the oldest Medicine Laureate ever, Peyton Rous, when he was awarded the Medicine Prize in 1966 for his discovery of tumour-inducing viruses.
