Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
A golden medallion with an embossed image of a bearded man facing left in profile. To the left of the man is the text "ALFR•" then "NOBEL", and on the right, the text (smaller) "NAT•" then "MDCCCXXXIII" above, followed by (smaller) "OB•" then "MDCCCXCVI" below.
Awarded for Outstanding contributions in Physiology or Medicine
Presented by Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Country Sweden
First awarded 1901
Official website http://nobelprize.org

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (Swedish: Nobelpriset i fysiologi eller medicin) administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding contributions in the medical field. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will, the others being for contributions in Physics, Chemistry, Literature and Peace. Nobel was personally interested in experimental physiology and wanted to establish a prize for the progress being made through scientific discoveries in laboratories. The Nobel prize medal is presented to the recipient(s) by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm at an annual ceremony on December 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death, along with a diploma and a certificate for the monetary award. The front side of the medal provides the same profile of Alfred Nobel as depicted on the medals for Physics, Chemistry, and Literature; its reverse side is unique to this medal.

As of 2009, 100 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to 195 individuals, 10 of them women. The first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded in 1901 to the German physiologist Emil Adolf von Behring, for his work on serum therapy and a vaccine against diphtheria. The first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Gerty Cori, received it in 1947 for her role in elucidating the metabolism of glucose, important in developing a treatment for diabetes. In 2009, the prize was awarded to Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak of the United States for the discovery of the role of telomeres and telomerase in protecting chromosomes, the first time two women have received a Nobel Prize in the same year.

Some awards have been controversial, including one to Antonio Egas Moniz in 1949 for the prefrontal leucotomy, bestowed despite protests from the medical establishment. Other controversies resulted from disagreements over who was included in the award. The 1952 prize to Selman Waksman was litigated in court, and half the patent rights awarded to his co-discovered Albert Schatz who was not recognized by the prize. The 1962 prize awarded to James D. Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for their work on DNA structure and properties did not acknowledge the contributing work from others, such as Oswald Avery and Rosalind Franklin who had died by the time of the nomination. Since the Nobel Prize rules forbid nominations of the deceased, longevity is an asset, one prize being awarded as long as 50 years after the discovery. Also forbidden is awarding any one prize to more than three recipients, and since in the last half century there has been an increasing tendency for scientists to work as teams, this rule has resulted in controversial exclusions.

Contents

Background

Nobel was interested in experimental physiology and set up his own laboratories.

Alfred Nobel was born on October 21, 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden into a family of engineers.[1] He was a chemist, engineer and inventor who amassed a fortune during his lifetime, most of it from his 355 inventions of which dynamite is the most famous.[2] He was interested in experimental physiology and set up his own labs in France and Italy to conduct experiments in blood transfusions. Keeping abreast of scientific findings, he was generous in his donations to Ivan Pavlov's laboratory in Russia, and was optimistic about the progress resulting from scientific discoveries made in laboratories.[3]

In 1888, Nobel was surprised to read his own obituary, titled ‘The merchant of death is dead’, in a French newspaper. As it happened, it was Nobel's brother Ludvig who had died, but Nobel, unhappy with the content of the obituary and concerned that his legacy would reflect poorly on him, was inspired to change his will.[4] He requested in his last will and testament that his money be used to create a series of prizes for those who confer the "greatest benefit on mankind" in physics, chemistry, peace, physiology or medicine, and literature.[5] Though Nobel wrote several wills during his lifetime, the last was written a little over a year before he died at the age of 63.[6] Because his will was contested, it was not approved by the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) until April 26, 1897.[7]

The will instructed that the Nobel Foundation be set up to manage the assets of the bequest.[8] In 1900, the Nobel Foundation's newly created statutes were promulgated by Swedish King Oscar II.[9][10] According to Nobel's will, the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, a medical school and research center, is responsible for the Prize in Physiology or Medicine.[11] Today the prize is commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Medicine.[12]

Nomination and selection

The Karolinska Institute declared that the prize would only go for achievements in basic research in human health, a decision which connected the prize in medicine to the new field of medical laboratory research and ruled out awarding the prize solely for clinical achievements.[3] Per the provisions of the will, only select persons are eligible to nominate individuals for the award. These include members of select academies in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Finland, as well as certain individuals affiliated with prestigious institutions in other lands. Past Nobel laureates may also nominate.[13] From the list of nominees, the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet choses the Nobel Laureates. In 1968, a provision was added that no more than three persons may share a Nobel prize.[14]

Sigmund Freud never won, as psychoanalysis is not based on fundamental research.[15]

True to its mandate, the Committee has selected researchers working in the basic sciences over those who have made applied contributions. Harvey Cushing, a pioneering American neurosurgeon who identified Cushing's syndrome never was awarded the prize, nor was Sigmund Freud, as his psychoanalysis lacks hypotheses that can be tested experimentally.[15] The public expected Jonas Salk or Albert Sabin to win the prize for their development of the polio vaccines, but instead the award went to John Enders, Thomas Weller, and Frederick Robbins whose basic discovery that the polio virus could reproduce in monkey cells in laboratory preparations was a fundamental finding that led to the elimination of the disease of polio.[16]

Through the 1930s, there were frequent prize winners in classical Physiology, but after that the field began dissolving into specialties. The last classical physiology winners were John Eccles, Alan Hodgkin and Andrew Huxley in 1963 for their findings regarding "unitary electrical events in the central and peripheral nervous system."[17]

Prizes

A Medicine or Physiology Nobel Prize laureate, earns a gold medal, a diploma bearing a citation, and a sum of money.[18] These are awarded at the Nobel Banquet.

Medals

The Nobel Prize medals, minted by Myntverket[19] in Sweden are registered trademarks of the Nobel Foundation. Each medal features an image of Alfred Nobel in left profile on the obverse (front side of the medal). The Nobel Prize medals for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature have identical obverses, showing the image of Alfred Nobel and the years of his birth and death (1833–1896). Before 1980, the medals were made of 23K gold; since then the medals are of 18K green gold, plated with 23K gold.[20]

The medal awarded by the Karolinska Institute displays an image of "the Genius of Medicine holding an open book in her lap, collecting the water pouring out from a rock in order to quench a sick girl's thirst." The medal is inscribed with words taken from Virgil's Aeneid and reads: Inventas vitam juvat excoluisse per artes, which translates to "inventions enhance life which is beautified through art."[21]

Diplomas

Nobel laureates receive a Diploma directly from the King of Sweden. Each Diploma is uniquely designed by the prize-awarding institutions for the laureate that receives it. In the case of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, that is the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute. Well known artists and calligraphers from Sweden are commissioned to create it.[22] The Diploma contains a picture and text which states the name of the laureate and a citation as to why they received the prize.[22]

Award money

The amount of prize money may differ depending on how much money the Nobel Foundation can award that year. If there are two winners in a particular category, the award grant is divided equally between the recipients. If there are three, the awarding committee has the option of dividing the grant equally, or awarding one-half to one recipient and one-quarter to each of the others.[23]

Ceremony and banquet

The awards are bestowed at a gala ceremony followed by a banquet.[24] The Nobel Banquet is a extravagant affair with the menu, planned months ahead of time, kept secret until the day of the event. The Nobel Foundation chooses the menu after tasting and testing selections submitted by selected chefs of international repute. Currently it is a three course dinner, although it was originally six courses when it began in 1901. Every Nobel Prize winner is allowed to bring up to 16 guests, and Sweden's royal family is always there. Typically the Prime Minister and other members of the government attend as well as representatives of the Nobel family.[25]

Laureates

Nikolaas Tinbergen (left), Konrad Lorenz (right) won (with Karl von Frisch) for their discoveries concerning animal behavior.[26]

The first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded in 1901 to the German physiologist Emil Adolf von Behring.[27] Behring's discovery of serum therapy in the development of the diphtheria and tetanus vaccines put "in the hands of the physician a victorious weapon against illness and deaths".[28][29] In 1902, the award went to Ronald Ross for his work on malaria, "by which he has shown how it enters the organism and thereby has laid the foundation for successful research on this disease and methods of combating it".[30] He identified the mosquito as the transmitter of malaria, and worked tirelessly on measures to prevent malaria worldwide.[31][32] At age 87 when he won, Ross is also the oldest prize winner (as of 2010).[33] The 1903 prize was awarded to Niels Ryberg Finsen, the first Danish winner, "in recognition of his contribution to the treatment of diseases, especially lupus vulgaris, with concentrated light radiation, whereby he has opened a new avenue for medical science".[34][35] He died within a year after receiving the prize at the age of 43.[33] Pavlov, whose work Nobel admired and supported, won the prize in 1904 for his work on the physiology of digestion.[36]

Subsequently, those selecting the recipients have exercised wide latitude in determining what falls under the umbrella of Physiology or Medicine. The awarding of the prize in 1973 to Nikolaas Tinbergen, Konrad Lorenz and Karl von Frisch for their observations of animal behavioral patterns could be considered a prize in the behavioral sciences rather than medicine or physiology.[12] Tinbergen expressed surprise in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech at "the unconventional decision of the Nobel Foundation to award this year’s prize ‘for Physiology or Medicine’ to three men who had until recently been regarded as ‘mere animal watchers’".[37]

Laureates have won the Nobel Prize in a wide range of fields that relate to physiology or medicine. As of 2009, eight Prizes have been awarded for contributions in the field of signal transduction by G proteins and second messengers, 13 have been awarded for contributions in the field of neurobiology[38] and 13 have been awarded for contributions in Intermediary metabolism.[39] The 100 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to 195 individuals through 2009.[40][41] Ten women have won the prize: Gerty Cori (1947), Rosalyn Yalow (1977), Barbara McClintock (1983), Rita Levi-Montalcini (1986), Gertrude B. Elion (1988), Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (1995), Linda B. Buck (2004), Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (2008), Elizabeth H. Blackburn (2009) and Carol W. Greider (2009).[42] Only one woman, Barbara McClintock, has won an unshared prize in this category, for the discovery of genetic transposition.[40][43] Mario Capecchi, Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies won the prize in 2007 for the discovery of a gene targeting procedure (a type of genetic recombination) for introducing homologous recombination in mice, employing embryonic stem cells through the development of the knockout mouse.[44][45] There have been 37 times when the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to a single individual, 31 times when it was shared by two, and 32 times there were three winners (the maximum allowed).

In 2009, the Nobel Prize was awarded to Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak of the United States for discovering the process by which chromosomes are protected by telomeres (regions of repetitive DNA at the ends of chromosomes) and the enzyme telomerase; they shared the prize of 10,000,000 SEK (slightly more than 1 million, or US$1.4 million). [46] Rita Levi-Montalcini, an Italian neurologist, who together with colleague Stanley Cohen, received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of Nerve growth factor (NGF), is the oldest living Nobel Laureate, being over 100 as of June 2010.[41]

In 1947, Gerty Cori was the first woman to be awarded the Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Time factor and death

Because of the length of time that may pass before the significance of a discovery becomes apparent, some prizes are awarded many years after. Barbara McClintock made her discoveries in 1944, before the structure of the DNA molecule was known; she was not awarded the prize until 1983. Similarly, in 1916 Peyton Rous discovered the role tumor viruses in chickens, but was not warded the prize until 50 years later, in 1966.[47] Nobel laurate Carol Greider's research leading to the prize was conducted over 20 years before. She noted that the passage of time is an advantage in the medical sciences, as it may take many years for the significance of a discovery to become apparent.[48] This award in medicine was the first in the Nobel Prize's history that more than one woman has been the recipient of the Nobel Prize in a single year.[49] It is also the first time two women have be awarded the Physiology or Medicine prize.[50]

Controversial inclusions and exclusions

Some of the awards have been controversial. Who was deserving of the 1923 prize for the discovery of insulin as a central hormone for controlling diabetes (awarded only a year after its discovery)[51][52] has been heatedly debated. It was shared between Frederick Banting and John Maclead; this infuriated Banting who regarded Macleod's involvement as minimal. Macleod was the department head at the University of Toronto but otherwise was not directly involved in the findings. Banting thought his laboratory partner Charles Best, who had shared in the laboratory work of discovery, should have shared the prize with him as well. In fairness, he decided to give half of his prize money to Best. Maclead on his part felt the biochemist James Collip, who joined the laboratory team later, deserved to be included in the award and shared his prize money with him.[51]

Scandal and controversy resulted from the 2008 award to Harald zur Hausen for the discovery of HPV, and to Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier for discovering HIV.

In 1949, despite protests from the medical establishment, the Portuguese neurologist Antonio Egas Moniz received the Physiology or Medicine Prize for his development of the prefrontal leucotomy, which he promoted by declaring the procedure's success just 10 days postoperative. Due largely to the publicity surrounding the award, it was prescribed without regard for modern medical ethics. Favorable results were reported by such publications as The New York Times. It is estimated that around 5,000 lobotomies were performed between 1949 and 1952 in the United States, until the procedure's popularity faded. Joseph Kennedy, the father of John Kennedy subjected his daughter, Rosemary, to the procedure which incapacitated her to the degree that she needed to be institutionalized for the rest of her life.[53][54]

The 1952 prize, awarded solely to Selman Waksman for his discovery of streptomycin, omitted the recognition some felt due to his co-discoverer Albert Schatz.[55][56] There was litigation brought by Schatz against Waksman over the details and credit of the streptomycin discovery; Schatz was awarded a substantial settlement, and, together with Waksman, Schatz was be officially recognized as a co-discoverer of streptomycin as far as patent rights. However, he is not recognized as a Nobel Prize winner.[55]

The 1962 Prize awarded to James D. Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins—for their work on DNA structure and properties—did not recognize contributing work from others, such as Alec Stokes and Herbert Wilson. In addition, Erwin Chargaff, Oswald Avery and Rosalind Franklin (whose key DNA x-ray crystallography work was the most detailed yet least acknowledged among the three)[57] contributed directly to the ability of Watson and Crick to solve the structure of the DNA molecule—but Avery died in 1955, and Franklin in 1958 and posthumous nominations for the Nobel Prize are not permitted. However, recently unsealed files of the Nobel Prize nominations reveal that no one ever nominated Franklin for the prize when she was alive.[58] Wilkins only contribution was to show Rosa Franklin's key x-ray photos to Watson.[59] As a result of Watson's misrepresentations of Franklin and her role in the discovery of the double helix in his controversial book The Double Helix, Franklin has come to be portrayed as a classic victim of sexism in science.[60][61] Chargaff, for his part, was not quiet about his exclusion from the prize, bitterly writing to other scientists about his disillusionment regarding the field of molecular biology.[59]

The 2008 award went to Harald zur Hausen in recognition of his discovery of the human papillomavirus (HPV) causing cervical cancer, and to Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier for discovering the Human immunodeficiency virus (AIDS).[62] Whether Robert Gallo or Luc Montagnier deserved more credit for the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS has been a matter of considerable controversy. As it was, Gallo was left out and not awarded a prize.[63][64] Additionally, there was scandal when it was learned that Harald zur Hausen was being investigated for having a financial interest in vaccines for the cervical cancer HPV can cause. AstraZeneca, which has a stake in two lucrative HPV vaccines therefore can gain financially from the prize, had agreed to sponsor Nobel Media and Nobel Web. According to Times Online, two senior figures in the selection process that chose zur Hausen also had strong links with AstraZeneca.[65]

Limits on number of awardees

The provision that restricts the maximum number of nominees to three for any one prize, introduced in 1968, has caused considerable controversy.[14][66] From the 1950s onward, there has been an increasing trend to award the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to more than one person. There were 59 people who received the prize in the first 50 years of the last century, while 113 individuals received it between 1951 and 2000. This increase could be attributed to the rise of the international scientific community after World War II, resulting in more persons being responsible for the discovery, and nominated for, a particular prize. Also, current biomedical research is more often carried out by teams rather than by scientists working alone, making it unlikely that any one scientist, or even a few, is primarily responsible for a discovery;[16] this has meant that a prize nomination that would have to include more than three contributors is automatically excluded from consideration.[47] Also, deserving contributors may not be nominated at all because the restriction results in a cut off point of three nominees per prize, leading to controversial exclusions.[67]

Years without awards

There have been nine years in which the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was not awarded (1915–1918, 1921, 1925, 1940–1942). Most of these occurred during either World War I (1914–1918) or World War II (1939–1945).[41] In 1939, Adolf Hitler's Third Reich forbade Gerhard Domagk from accepting his prize.[68] He was later able to receive the diploma and medal but not the money.[41][69]

See also

References

  1. Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin (2001). p. 5. 
  2. Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin (2001). p. 11. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Feldman, Burton (2001). pp. 237–238. 
  4. Golden, Frederic (16 October 2000). "The Worst And The Brightest". Time Magazine (Time Warner). http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,998209,00.html. Retrieved 9 April 2010. 
  5. "History – Historic Figures: Alfred Nobel (1833–1896)". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/nobel_alfred.shtml. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  6. Sohlman, Ragnar (1983). p. 13. 
  7. Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin (2001). p. 13. 
  8. "The Nobel Foundation". nobelprize.org. http://web.archive.org/web/19960101-re_/http://nobelprize.org/nobelfoundation/index.html. Retrieved 22 June 2010. 
  9. AFP, "Alfred Nobel's last will and testament", The Local(5 October 2009): accessed 20 January 2010.
  10. Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin (2001). p. 26. 
  11. "Nobel Prize History —". Infoplease.com. 1999-10-13. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/nobel-prize-history.html. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  12. 12.0 12.1 Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin (2001). p. 112. 
  13. Foundation Books National Council of Science (2005). Nobel Prize Winners in Pictures. Foundation Books. p. viii. ISBN 8175962453. http://books.google.com/?id=_K2RaFgFPCUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Nobel+prize&q. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin (2001). p. 17. 
  15. 15.0 15.1 Feldman, Burton (2001). p. 238. 
  16. 16.0 16.1 Bishop, J. Michael (2004). How to Win the Nobel Prize: An Unexpected Life in Science. Harvard University Press. pp. 23–24. ISBN 0674016254. http://books.google.com/?id=jJqgBtk58akC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Nobel+prize&q. 
  17. Feldman, Burton (2001). p. 239. 
  18. Tom Rivers (2009-12-10). "2009 Nobel Laureates Receive Their Honors | Europe| English". .voanews.com. http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/europe/2009-Nobel-Laureates-Receive-Their-Honors-78989292.html. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  19. "Medalj – ett traditionellt hantverk" (in Swedish). Myntverket. http://www.myntverket.se/products.asp?lang=sv&page=3. Retrieved 2007-12-15. 
  20. "The Nobel Medals". Ceptualinstitute.com. http://www.ceptualinstitute.com/galleria/awards/nobel/nobelmedals.html. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  21. "The Nobel Medal for Physiology or Medicine". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/medal.html. Retrieved 16 June 2010. 
  22. 22.0 22.1 "The Nobel Prize Diplomas". Nobelprize.org. http://web.archive.org/web/19960101-re_/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/diplomas/. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  23. Sample, Ian (2009-10-05). "Nobel prize for medicine shared by scientists for work on ageing and cancer". London: Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/oct/05/nobel-prize-medicine-2009-award. Retrieved 2010-01-15. 
  24. "Pomp aplenty as winners gather for Nobel gala". The Local. December 10, 2009. http://www.thelocal.se/23784/20091210/. Retrieved 22 June 2010. 
  25. "Nobel Laureates dinner banquet tomorrow at Stokholm City Hall". DNA. December 9, 2009. http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_nobel-laureates-dinner-banquet-tomorrow-at-stokholm-city-hall_1321860. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
  26. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1973". Nobel Foundation. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1973/index.html. Retrieved 2007-07-28. 
  27. Feldman, Burton (2001). p. 242. 
  28. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1901 Emil von Behring". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1901/index.html. Retrieved 1 July 2010. 
  29. "Emil von Behring: The Founder of Serum Therapy". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/articles/behring/index.html. Retrieved 1 July 2010. 
  30. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1902 Ronald Ross". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1902/index.html. Retrieved 20 June 2010. 
  31. "Sir Ronald Ross". Encyclopedia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/510100/Sir-Ronald-Ross. Retrieved 20 June 2010. 
  32. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1902 Ronald Ross". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1902/ross-bio.html. Retrieved 21 June 2010. 
  33. 33.0 33.1 "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1903 Niels Ryberg Finsen - Biography". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1903/finsen-bio.html. Retrieved 21 June 2010. 
  34. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1903 Niels Ryberg Finsen". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1903/index.html. Retrieved 1 July 2010. 
  35. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1903 Niels Ryberg Finsen - Award Ceremony Speech". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1903/press.html. Retrieved 1 July 2010. 
  36. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1904 Ivan Pavlov". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1904/index.html. Retrieved 16 June 2010. 
  37. Tinbergen, Nikolaas (December 12, 1973). "Ethology and Stress Diseases". nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1973/tinbergen-lecture.pdf. Retrieved 16 June 2010. 
  38. "Nobel Prizes in Nerve Signaling". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/nerve_signaling.html. Retrieved 16 June 2010. 
  39. "The Nobel Prize Awarders". Nobelprize.org.. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/articles/lindsten-ringertz-rev/index.html. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  40. 40.0 40.1 "Facts on the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/shortfacts.html. Retrieved 19 June 2010. 
  41. 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 "Nobel Prize Facts". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/nobelprize_facts.html. Retrieved 15 June 2010. 
  42. "Women Nobel Laureates". Nobelprize.org.. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/lists/women.html. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  43. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1983 Barbara McClintock". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1983/mcclintock.html. Retrieved 21 June 2010. 
  44. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007 Mario R. Capecchi, Sir Martin J. Evans, Oliver Smithies". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2007/index.html. Retrieved 20 June 2010. 
  45. Hansson, Göran K. "The 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Advanced Information". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2007/adv.html. Retrieved 26 June 2010. 
  46. Wade, Nicholas (October 5, 2009). "3 Americans Share Nobel for Medicine". The New York Times (nytimes.com). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/06/science/06nobel.html. Retrieved 22 June 2010. 
  47. 47.0 47.1 Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin (2001). p. 114. 
  48. Dreifus, Claudia (October 12, 2009). "On Winning a Nobel Prize in Science". The New York Times (nytimes.com). http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/science/13conv.html?_r=1&ref=nobel_prizes. Retrieved 22 June 2010. 
  49. Harmon, Katherine (October 5, 2009). "Work on Telomeres Wins Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 3 U.S. Genetic Researchers (Update)". Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=nobel-prize-medicine-2009-genetics. Retrieved 16 June 2010. 
  50. "Cancer researchers win the Nobel Prize in medicine". Discovery News. October 5, 2009. http://news.discovery.com/human/nobel-prize-medicine.html. Retrieved 22 June 2010. 
  51. 51.0 51.1 Judson, Horance (2004). p. 291. 
  52. Shalev, Baruch Aba (2002). 100 years of Nobel prizes. Americas Group. p. 73. ISBN 0935047379. http://books.google.com/?id=PfRaPHr86XUC&q=Frederick+Banting#v=snippet&q=Frederick%20Banting. 
  53. Feldman, Burton (2001). p. 287. 
  54. Day, Elizabeth (12 January 2008). "He was bad, so they put an ice pick in his brain...". The Guardian (Guardian Media Group). http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/jan/13/neuroscience.medicalscience. Retrieved 31 March 2010. 
  55. 55.0 55.1 Ainsworth, Steve (2006). "Streptomycin: arrogance and anger". The Pharmaceutical Journal 276: 237–238. http://www.pharmj.com/pdf/articles/pj_20060225_streptomycin.pdf. Retrieved 22 June 2010. 
  56. Wainwright, Milton "A Response to William Kingston, "Streptomycin, Schatz versus Waksman, and the balance of Credit for Discovery"", Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences – Volume 60, Number 2, April 2005, pp. 218–220, Oxford University Press.
  57. U.S. National Library of Medicine. "The Rosalind Franklin Papers". The DNA Riddle: King's College, London, 1951–1953. USA.gov. http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/KR/Views/Exhibit/narrative/dna.html. Retrieved 19 June 2010. 
  58. Fredholm, Lotta (30 September 2003). "The Discovery of the Molecular Structure of DNA – The Double Helix". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/dna_double_helix/readmore.html. Retrieved 16 June 2010. 
  59. 59.0 59.1 Judson, Horace (2003-10-20). "No Nobel Prize for Whining". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9C02E4DE123EF933A15753C1A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2010-06-23. 
  60. Holt, Jim (October 28, 2002). "Photo Finish: Rosalind Franklin and the great DNA race.". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/10/28/021028crbo_books. Retrieved 19 June 2010. 
  61. Brenda Maddox (23 January 2003). "The double helix and the 'wronged heroine'" (PDF). Nature 421 (6921): 407–408. doi:10.1038/nature01399. PMID 12540909. http://www.biomath.nyu.edu/index/course/hw_articles/nature4.pdf. 
  62. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2008 Harald zur Hausen, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Luc Montagnier". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2008/index.html. Retrieved 20 June 2010. 
  63. Cohen J, Enserink M (October 2008). "Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. HIV, HPV researchers honored, but one scientist is left out". Science 322 (5899): 174–5. doi:10.1126/science.322.5899.174. PMID 18845715. 
  64. Enserink, Martin; Jon Cohen (October 6, 2008). "Nobel Prize Surprise". Science (AAAS). http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2008/10/06-01.html. 
  65. Charter, David (December 19, 2008). "AstraZeneca row as corruption claims engulf Nobel prize". The Sunday Times (timesonline.co.uk). http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5367941.ece. Retrieved 22 June 2010.  (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5qpa5pF7G)
  66. Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin (2001). p. 61. 
  67. Lindsten, Jan; Nils Ringertz (June 26, 2001). "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 1901-2000". Nobelprize.org. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/articles/lindsten-ringertz-rev/index.html. Retrieved 21 June 2010. 
  68. Levinovitz, Agneta Wallin (2001). p. 23. 
  69. Wilhelm, Peter (1983). The Nobel Prize. Springwood Books. p. 85. ISBN 0862541115. http://books.google.com/?id=CNnZKHxQpO4C&q=Richard+Kuhn#search_anchor. 

Bibliography

External links