Nobel Prize Awarded To Scientists For Cancer-Fighting DNA fix Research

The three DNA experts will share the prize as well as the $960,000 provided to the winners.

On Wednesday, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences bestowed the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to 3 researchers, in recognition of their work concerning damaged DNA.

In the 1970’s, scientists believed that DNA was a stable molecule, but Swedish chemist Tomas Lindahl demonstrated that it decays to such an incredible extent that life on Earth should never have been possible. “NIH is proud to have supported this work”.

Professor Malcolm Alison, from Barts Cancer Institute based at Queen Mary, University of London, said: “Tomas Lindahl has been a pioneer in this incredibly important area since all our genomes are continually subjected to millions of DNA-damaging mutations, yet cancer is relatively rare because of these fix mechanisms”. Their work mapped how cells fix DNA to stop damaging errors from showing in genetic info.

Understanding DNA damage is the key to revolutionizing cancer treatment.

During an interview Lindahl participated in, after being awarded the Nobel Prize, he expressed his gratitude, surprise and joy that his lifetime work had been recognized as noteworthy and “actually important”.

According to the Nobel committee, Sancar’s extensive knowledge of this process paved the way for vital discoveries in this field.

Aziz Sancar, who has double citizenship (American and Turkish) was also honored for his contribution.

Aziz Sancar has mapped “nucleotide excision fix”, the mechanism that cells use to fix UV damage to DNA.

The Nobel announcements continue with literature on Thursday, the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday and the economics award on Monday. Modrich showed how the cell corrects errors when DNA is replicated during cell division.

Modrich, 69, raised in Raton, is an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, N.C.

“Thanks to his vision and creative genius, he was one of the first scientists to spot the process of DNA fix – something we now know plays a fundamental role in the development of cancer”.

And in a scientist’s career, the Nobel Prize is a multimillion-to-one shot.