Chinese scientists have won the Nobel Prize, and new winners have been announced

According to the official website of the Nobel Prize, on the afternoon of October 2, Beijing time, the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was first announced, and scientists Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman won the award for their discoveries in nucleoside base modification, which made the development of effective messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines against new crown infection possible.

The Prize in Physiology or Medicine is the first prize announced for the 2023 Nobel Prize. As an award closely related to human life and health, the award has witnessed the development of human biology and medicine over the past hundred years, and recorded the exploration and research of Nobel laureates in the fight against disease and death.

Life becomes better

These discoveries have benefited countless people

"New discoveries make life better." On the medal of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, there is such a sentence, which is also the meaning of the prize.

Over the years, Nobel laureates in physiology or medicine have diligently explored, and their research results cover many fields such as physiology, genetics, biochemistry, metabolism and immunology, promoting the progress of world medicine and benefiting human society.

Malaria is one of the world's leading infectious diseases with high mortality. The discovery of artemisinin has brought a new antimalarial drug to the world. In 2015, Chinese scientist Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Hans Versberg, a member of the Nobel Prize Committee and a professor at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, once spoke highly of this: "In the 60s and 70s of last century, Tu Youyou participated in the research and development of new antimalarial drugs in China. The successful extraction of artemisinin led to the development of new antimalarial drugs, saving thousands of lives. ”

Cancer is considered a terrible "killer" that takes human health, killing millions of people every year, and the development of anti-cancer strategies often attracts attention. For this reason, the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to American scientist James Allison and Japanese scientist Yu Honjo for their contributions to cancer immunotherapy. The jury noted that the two scientists "loosened" the body's anti-cancer "brakes" to allow the immune system to fight cancer cells at full strength, and "have now revolutionized cancer therapy."

Hepatitis is also a major health threat facing all mankind. In 2020, three scientists, Harvey Alt, Michael Horton and Charles Rice, won the Nobel Prize for their decisive contribution to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. The official website of the Nobel Prize pointed out that the discovery of hepatitis C virus not only revealed the cause of some chronic hepatitis cases, but also made it possible to conduct blood tests and develop antiviral drugs for hepatitis C virus, saving millions of lives.

The picture shows December 10, 2015, local time, Stockholm, Sweden, Nobel Prize winner Tu Youyou in physiology or medicine receiving the award. (Infographic)

"Number" says Nobel Prize

They are seen as "true giants"

According to the official website of the Nobel Prize, since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded 113 times (as of 2022), with a total of 225 people awarded, including 12 women. The years 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1921, 1925, 1940, 1941 and 1942 were not awarded.

In addition to the effects of the war, the charter of the Nobel Foundation states that "if the nominated achievement does not meet the Nobel Prize criteria, the prize money will be retained until the following year." If there are still no eligible winners in the following year, the prize money will be deposited into the Foundation's reserve funds. ”

Looking at the history of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, the oldest winner to date is American biologist Peyton Rouse, who discovered tumor-inducing viruses, who was 87 years old when he won the prize in 1966. The youngest winner was Canadian physician Fred Banting, who was 32 years old in 1923 for his discovery of insulin.

There have also been two "husband and wife" awards at the same time: American scientists Carl Corey and Gerty Corey jointly won the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering the enzymatic reaction in sugar metabolism; Among the 2014 winners of the Physiology or Medicine Prize, Norwegian scientists May-Britt Moser and Edouard Moser are also husband and wife.

Arthur Kornberg, winner in 1959, and Roger Kornberg, winner in 2006, are a "father and son soldier". When Roger Kornberg received the award, he lamented that he still remembers when he was young and followed his father to Stockholm to receive the award. He also stated that "I have always admired his [father's] work and the work of many others before me" and that they are "true giants".

Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis, who is world-famous for his book "The Interpretation of Dreams", is a veteran "runner" who has been nominated 32 times but has never won.

Data map: On October 1, 2018, local time, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to American immunologist James Allison and Japanese immunologist Yu Honjo for their discovery of cancer therapies that inhibit negative immune regulation.

Looking back at the winners and their achievements in the last 10 years

In 2022

Swedish scientist Svant Pebo was awarded for his contributions to the study of the extinct ancient human genome and human evolution.

In 2021

American scientists David Julius and Arden Patapoutian were awarded for their discoveries in sensing temperature and touch.

In 2020

American scientists Harvey Alter and Charles Rice and British scientist Michael Horton were honored for their contributions to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus.

In 2019

American scientists William Kaelin and Greg Semenza, and British scientist Peter Ratcliffe were honored for their contributions to "discovering how cells sense and adapt to oxygen supply."

In 2018

American immunologist James Allison and Japanese immunologist Yu Honjo were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of cancer therapies that inhibit negative immune regulation.

In 2017

American scientists Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rothbach and Michael Young won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for explaining how many animals, plants and humans adapt their biological rhythms to the diurnal changes that follow the rotation of the Earth.

In 2016

Japanese molecular cell biologist Yoshinori Osumi was awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the mechanism of autophagy.

In 2015

Chinese scientist Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for "the study of traditional Chinese medicine and the combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicine to propose the treatment of artemisinin and dihydroartemisinin"; Meanwhile, Irish scientist William Campbell and Japanese scientist Tomo Omura were both awarded the prize for "discovering a new treatment for an infection caused by roundworm parasites."

In 2014

British scientist John O'Keefe and two Norwegian scientists, Edward Mossol and May Brett Mossol, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for "the discovery of the cells that make up the positioning system of the brain."

In 2013

American scientists James E. Rothman and Randy W. Schekman, and German scientist Thomas C. Soudhoff were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their "new discoveries in the field of intracellular transport systems, in which three discovered the mechanism of operation and regulation of cellular vesicle traffic." (End)