The winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine has been chosen. A Neanderthal researcher can be happy about the award.
Update from October 3rd, 11.30 a.m .: The Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to the Swede Svante Pääbo, who researches in Leipzig, for his findings on human evolution. This is announced by the Karolinska Institute. The 67-year-old is Director and Scientific Member at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. He received the award for sequencing Neanderthal DNA and establishing paleogenetics.
By revealing “the genetic differences” between living humans and extinct ancestors, “his discoveries have laid the foundation for exploring what makes us humans so unique,” the jury said. Pääbo found that a gene transfer from now extinct hominins to Homo sapiens has taken place. This is “of physiological importance today, for example for the way our immune system reacts to infections,” explained the jury.
Pääbo found out about his prestigious award in Leipzig. He was “overwhelmed, speechless and very happy” on the phone, reported the secretary of the Nobel Assembly of the Stockholm Karolinska Institute, Thomas Perlmann, on Monday at the announcement. Pääbo asked if he could tell someone about the award before it was announced. He then told him that it was okay to tell his wife about it, Perlmann said.
Medicine Nobel Prize: several researchers can hope
First report : Stockholm – The Nobel Prize winners will be announced from Monday. The first category is medicine and physiology, followed by five more. In 2021, US researchers David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. They were honored for discovering cell receptors that allow humans to sense temperature and touch. On Monday (October 3rd) at 11.30 a.m. the winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology will be announced.
Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology will be announced on Monday
Every year in October, the Nobel Assembly of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm announces the winners of the Nobel Prize. In addition to the medicine or physiology category, five other prizewinners will be announced in the coming days: on Tuesday (October 4th) the physics category will continue, followed by chemistry on Wednesday. The Literature Prize Winner will be announced on Thursday and the Peace Category Winner will be announced on Friday. The Economics category concludes on October 10th.
Nominees were not known in advance. The Nobel Committee announced that there are around 343 candidates in the running for 2022. Including 251 individuals and 92 organizations. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for selecting the laureates. The Nobel Foundation has developed categories that determine who can nominate candidates for the Nobel Prize. The Nobel Committee then reviews the nominations and selects the candidates.
The first speculations about possible award winners in the medicine and physiology category were already making the rounds. The researchers Masato Hasegawa and Virginia Man-Yee Lee, Mary-Claire King and Stuart H. Orkin were considered possible winners, as reported by the Frankfurter Rundschau .
Nobel prize winners are announced – prize money of 920.00 euros
The Nobel Prize has been awarded since 1901. It is named after the Swedish chemist and inventor and founder of the prize, Alfred Nobel (1833-1896). The winners will receive prize money of 10 million Swedish crowns, which is about 920,000 euros. However, the award ceremony will not take place until December 10 – the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. The Nobel Peace Prize is presented in Oslo, all others in Stockholm. (vk)
