Two Americans Share Nobel Prize in Medicine
Posted on October 3, 2006
MSNBC.com reports that American scientists Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello have won the Nobel Prize in medicine for their for their breakthrough discovery for regulating gene activity -- gene silencing by double-stranded RNA. Fire and Mello found that RNA interference could be used to turn off the effect of specific genes.
RNA interference occurs naturally in plants, animals and humans. The Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, which awarded the $1.4 million prize, said it is important for regulating the activity of genes and helps defend against viral infection. The two scientists will share the prize money.The press announcement, videos and interviews with the winning scientists can be found here on Nobelprize.org."This year's Nobel laureates have discovered a fundamental mechanism for controlling the flow of genetic information," the institute said.
Erna Moller, a member of the Nobel committee, said their research helped shed new light on a complicated process that had confused researchers for years.
"It was like opening the blinds in the morning," she said. "Suddenly you can see everything clearly."