German, French scientists win Nobel prize for medicine
STOCKHOLM: Harald zur Hausen of Germany and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi
and Luc Montagnier of France on Monday won the 2008 Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of two viruses causing severe
human diseases.
Zur Hausen will share a half of the award in 10 million Swedish
kronor (US$ 1.42 million) and the two French scientists will share the
other half, said Sweden Karolinska Institute, which awarded the prize
bearing the name of the 19th century dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel.
Zur Hausen, 72, was honoured for his discovery of 'human papilloma
viruses (HPV) causing cervical cancer', the second most common cancer
among women.
This discovery has led to characterisation of the natural history of
HPV infection, an understanding of mechanisms of HPV-induced
carcinogenesis and the development of prophylactic vaccines against HPV
acquisition, Professor Jan Andersson, a member of the Nobel Assembly at
the Karolinska Institute, said at a press conference. Zur Hausen, born
in 1936, is a professor emeritus and former chairman and scientific
director of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg.
Montagnier, 76, and Barre-Sinoussi, 61, were awarded the prize for
their discovery of 'human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)'.
Their work led to the development of methods to diagnose infected
patients and to screen blood products, which have limited the spread of
the pandemic, Professor Andersson said.
Xinhua
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