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| Nobel prize for chemistry: Lindahl, Modrich and Sancar win for DNA research | Nobel prize for chemistry: Lindahl, Modrich and Sancar win for DNA research |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar for their research into the mechanisms that cells use to repair DNA. | The Nobel prize in chemistry has been awarded to Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar for their research into the mechanisms that cells use to repair DNA. |
| The three scientists, from Sweden, the USA and Turkey respectively, received an equal share of the prestigious 8m Swedish kronor (£631,000) award for “mechanistic studies of DNA repair”. Their research mapped and explained how the cell repairs its DNA in order to prevent errors occurring in genetic information. | The three scientists, from Sweden, the USA and Turkey respectively, received an equal share of the prestigious 8m Swedish kronor (£631,000) award for “mechanistic studies of DNA repair”. Their research mapped and explained how the cell repairs its DNA in order to prevent errors occurring in genetic information. |
| Announcing the prize in Stockholm, Göran K Hansson, the secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said: “This year’s prize is about the cell’s tool box for repairing DNA”. | |
| In a call to the Academy, Lindahl said of winning: “It was a surprise. I knew that over the years I have been occasionally considered but so have hundreds of other people. I feel very lucky and proud to be selected.” | |
| From the moment an egg is fertilised it begins to divide. Two cells become four, four cells become eight. After one week a human embryo consists of 128 cells, each with its own set of genetic material. Unravel all that DNA and it would stretch for 300m. | |
| But many billions more divisions take place on the path to adulthood, until we carry enough DNA in our trillions of cells to reach 250 times to the sun and back. The most remarkable feat is how the genetic information is copied so faithfully. “From a chemical perspective, this out to be impossible,” the Nobel committee said. | |
| “All chemical processes are prone to random errors. Additionally, your DNA is subjected on a daily basis to damaging radiation and reactive molecules. In fact, you ought to have been a chemical chaos long before you even developed into a foetus,” they added. | |
| Lindahl, Modrich and Sancar worked out how cells repair faults that inevitably creep in when DNA is copied time and time again, and mutations that arise under a barrage of environmental factors such as UV rays in sunlight. | |
| “Their systematic work has made a decisive contribution to the understanding of how the living cell functions, as well as providing knowledge about the molecular causes of several hereditary diseases and about mechanisms behind both cancer development and ageing,” the committee said. | |
| Last year’s chemistry prize went to Stefan Hell of Germany and Americans Eric Betzig and William Moerner for finding ways to make microscopes more powerful than previously thought possible. | Last year’s chemistry prize went to Stefan Hell of Germany and Americans Eric Betzig and William Moerner for finding ways to make microscopes more powerful than previously thought possible. |
| Related: Nobel prize for chemistry announcement – live | Related: Nobel prize for chemistry announcement – live |
| Only four women have won a chemistry Nobel, including Marie Curie (who also won the physics prize) and Ada Yonath, who was the last female winner in 2009. One person, Frederick Sanger, has won the award twice. | Only four women have won a chemistry Nobel, including Marie Curie (who also won the physics prize) and Ada Yonath, who was the last female winner in 2009. One person, Frederick Sanger, has won the award twice. |
| The Nobel in medicine or physiology was awarded on Monday to Tu Youyou, William Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura for advances that led to treatments for diseases caused by parasites, including malaria. On Tuesday, Takaaki Kajita and Arthur McDonald won the physics prize for their work on subatomic particles called neutrinos. | The Nobel in medicine or physiology was awarded on Monday to Tu Youyou, William Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura for advances that led to treatments for diseases caused by parasites, including malaria. On Tuesday, Takaaki Kajita and Arthur McDonald won the physics prize for their work on subatomic particles called neutrinos. |
| The winners of the literature and peace prizes are to be announced later this week. The economics prize will be announced on Monday 12 October. | The winners of the literature and peace prizes are to be announced later this week. The economics prize will be announced on Monday 12 October. |