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Origin of Nobel Prize

 

　　Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace. The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, founder of the Nobel Prize. Each prize consists of a medal, personal diploma, and a cash award.

 

 

 

 

2008 Winners

 

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2008

Harald zur Hausen

for his discovery of "human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer"

and the other half jointly to

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier

for their discovery of "human immunodeficiency virus"

 

Summary

This year’s Nobel Prize awards discoveries of two viruses causing severe human diseases.

Harald zur Hausen went against current dogma and postulated that oncogenic human papilloma virus (HPV) caused cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women. He realized that HPV-DNA could exist in a non-productive state in the tumours, and should be detectable by specific searches for viral DNA. He found HPV to be a heterogeneous family of viruses. Only some HPV types cause cancer. His discovery has led to characterization of the natural history of HPV infection, an understanding of mechanisms of HPV-induced carcinogenesis and the development of prophylactic vaccines against HPV acquisition. 

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier discovered human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Virus production was identified in lymphocytes from patients with enlarged lymph nodes in early stages of acquired immunodeficiency, and in blood from patients with late stage disease. They characterized this retrovirus as the first known human lentivirus based on its morphological, biochemical and immunological properties. HIV impaired the immune system because of massive virus replication and cell damage to lymphocytes. The discovery was one prerequisite for the current understanding of the biology of the disease and its antiretroviral treatment.

Harald zur Hausen, born 1936 in Germany, German citizen, MD at University of Düsseldorf, Germany. Professor emeritus and former Chairman and Scientific Director, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany.

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, born 1947 in France, French citizen, PhD in virology, Institut Pasteur, Garches, France. Professor and Director, Regulation of Retroviral Infections Unit, Virology Department, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.

Luc Montagnier, born 1932 in France, French citizen, PhD in virology, University of Paris, Paris, France. Professor emeritus and Director, World Foundation for AIDS Research and Prevention, Paris, France.

 

 

 

American, Japanese scientists share 2008 Nobel Prize in physics

Backgrounder: Recent winners of Nobel Prize for physics

 

      

A combination photograph shows Yoichiro Nambu of America and Japan's Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa. Yoichiro Nambu, Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa won the 2008 Nobel Prize in physics for reaching on symmetry at the microscopic level, the Nobel committee announced Tuesday.(Xinhua Photo)Photo Gallery>>>

STOCKHOLM, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Yoichiro Nambu of America and Japan's Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa won the 2008 Nobel Prize in physics for reaching on symmetry at the microscopic level, the Nobel committee announced Tuesday.

Nambu from the University of Chicago was awarded "for the discovery of the mechanism of spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics," the committee said.

Meanwhile, Kobayashi and Maskawa were honored "for the discovery of the origin of the broken symmetry which predicts the existence of at least three families of quarks in nature," it added.

"Nambu's theories permeate the standard model of elementary particle physics. The model unifies the smallest building blocks of all matter and three of nature's four forces in one single theory," said Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in the citation.

It added Kobayashi and Maskawa "explained broken symmetry within the framework of the standard model but required that the model be extended to three families of quarks."

 

American, Japanese scientists share 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry

The picture at the Royal Swedish Academy shows undated file photos of the 2008 Nobel Chemistry laureates: American scientists Martin Chalfie (L) and Roger Y. Tsien (R), and Osamu Shimomura of Japan, in Stockholm, Sweden, Oct. 8, 2008. American scientists Martin Chalfie and Roger Y. Tsien, and Osamu Shimomura of Japan won the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry on Wednesday for their discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP.

 

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2008

 

Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio

France