Three Scientists Won Nobel Medicine

Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden that founded Alfred Nobel laureates bestow the award and prize in medicine in 2011 for the three scientists, namely Bruce Beutler from the United States, Jules Hoffman born Luxemburgh and French citizen, and Ralph Steinman from Canada.

The jury assessed the three scientists had been credited with making the breakthrough and opened the horizon in the fight against cancer and other diseases.
"The winners of this year's Nobel medicine change our view of the immune system in a revolutionary way to discover the key principles for enabling it," said the jury as reported kompas.com.

They are rated to work hard to learn and understand the immune system, especially the study of molecules that signal to release the antibodies and kill the cells as a response against microbes.

Understanding of the immune system that opened the door of the birth of new medicines as well as control of autoimmune diseases, such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and Crohns disease which occurs because the body's immune system inexplicably attacks the body.

The work of these scientists also open up development opportunities of prevention and therapy against infections, cancer and inflammatory diseases.

The invention also allows for the improvement of all three vaccines against infection and stimulate the immune system to attack tumor cells.

Beutler (55) and Hoffmann (70) will share one half of the Nobel prizes worth USD 1.48 million. Both found a protein receptor that activates the first step in the immune system.

Hoffman, since 1996 working in research laboratories in Strasbourg to investigate how fruit flies fight infection and found gene called Toll, which is known to be involved in embryonic development and help identify and fight harmful microorganisms.

Beutler doing research since 1998 in Texas University, he found that the LPS receptor called Toll is also working in the same way in mice. It is at once prove mammals and fruit flies have the same immune pathaway.

Steinman (68) which in 2007 won the Lasker Prize, won half of the Nobel prize thanks to his research which shows adaptive responses. In 1973, he found a new cell type that dendritic cells and demonstrate its role in releasing T cells, killer in the immune system.

T cells are also part of a mobilizing force imunologikal memory and speed in the body's defense when the same microorganism cells to attack back.

Steinman is also able to show the body's immune system against harmful microorganisms by ridding herself of molecules.

Posted in: Health News