Three share Nobel Prize for Medicine
The 2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine has been awarded to Harald zur Hausen, Francoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier.
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm awarded one half of the prize to Harald zur Hausen for his discovery of "human papilloma viruses (HPV) causing cervical cancer".
The other half of the prize was awarded jointly to Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier for their discovery of "human immunodeficiency virus".
Harald zur Hausen, born 1936, is a German citizen and Professor Emeritus at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelbelg.
Francoise Barré-Sinoussi (born 1947) and Luc Montagnier (born 1932) are both French. Barré-Sinoussi is a Professor and Director at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Montagnier is Professor Emeritus at the World Foundation for Aids Research and Prevention in Paris.
According to the Nobel Assembly, zur Hausen's 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."
In the case of Barré-Sinoussi and Montagnier, their discovery of HIV "was one prerequisite for the current understanding of the biology of the disease and its antiretroviral treatment."
See also: Snubbed - For whom no Nobel tolls
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The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm awarded one half of the prize to Harald zur Hausen for his discovery of "human papilloma viruses (HPV) causing cervical cancer".
The other half of the prize was awarded jointly to Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier for their discovery of "human immunodeficiency virus".
Harald zur Hausen, born 1936, is a German citizen and Professor Emeritus at the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelbelg.
Francoise Barré-Sinoussi (born 1947) and Luc Montagnier (born 1932) are both French. Barré-Sinoussi is a Professor and Director at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. Montagnier is Professor Emeritus at the World Foundation for Aids Research and Prevention in Paris.
According to the Nobel Assembly, zur Hausen's 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."
In the case of Barré-Sinoussi and Montagnier, their discovery of HIV "was one prerequisite for the current understanding of the biology of the disease and its antiretroviral treatment."
See also: Snubbed - For whom no Nobel tolls
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