One of 3 Chosen for Nobel in Medicine Died Days Ago

Three scientists shared the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for their discoveries about the immune system. From left, Bruce Beutler, Jules Hoffmann and Ralph Steinman. Mr. Steinman died on Sept. 30.
STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Canadian-born scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for his discoveries about the immune system but hours later his university said that he had been dead for three days.
The Nobel committee had been unaware of Ralph Steinman's death and it was unclear whether the prize would be rescinded because Nobel statutes don't allow posthumous awards.  /NY TIMES

On Friday, the family of Montreal-born researcher Ralph Steinman was grieving the death of the Rockefeller University cell biologist after a four-year battle with pancreatic cancer, where doctors had prolonged his life with the immune therapy Dr. Steinman had helped developped.
By Monday morning came the news that Dr. Steinman had been granted the most prestigious award in science, co-sharing a Nobel Prize in medicine for two others for their work in the treatment and prevention of infectious illnesses and cancer./THE GLOBE AND MAIL

The trio's discoveries have enabled the development of improved vaccines against infectious diseases. In the long term they could also yield better treatments of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and chronic inflammatory diseases, hansson said.
Beutler and Hoffmann were cited for their discoveries in the 1990s of receptor proteins that can recognize bacteria and other microorganisms as they enter the body, and activate the first line of defense in the immune system, known as innate immunity.
The discoveries have helped scientists understand why the immune system sometimes attacks its own tissues, paving the way for new ways to fight inflammatory diseases, Hansson said.
"They have made possible the development of new methods for preventing and treating disease, for instance with improved vaccines against infections and in attempts to stimulate the immune system to attack tumors," the committee said.
No vaccines are on the market yet, but Hansson told AP that vaccines against hepatitis are in the pipeline. "Large clinical trials are being done today," he said.
a unique capacity to activate so-called T-cells. Those cells have a key role in adaptive immunity, when antibodies and killer cells fight infections. They also develop a memory that helps the immune system mobilize its defenses next time it comes under a similar attack.
The trio's discoveries have enabled the development of new methods for treating and preventing diseases, including improved vaccines and in attempts to help the immune system to attack tumors, the committee said.




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Årets Nobelpris i fysiologi eller medicin går till forskare som upptäckt mekanismer för hur vårt immunsystenm aktiveras. Prissumman delas i två delar, varav den ena delen går till Bruce Beutler och Jules Hoffmann och den andra delen går till Ralph Steinman.

Bruce Beutler och Jules Hoffmann tilldelas priset för upptäckten av receptorerna på cellerna som reagerar på mikroorganismer och aktiverar det medfödda immunförsvaret som är den första försvarsmekanismen i immunsystemet.
Ralph Steinman tilldelas årets nobelpris för hans upptäckt av dendritcellerna och deras förmåga att aktivera kroppens andra försvarsmekanism, att eliminera mikroorganismerna från cellen.
Nobelpriskommittén prisar de tre forskarnas arbete då de lett till förståelse och nya kunskaper kring hur immunförsvaret, både de medfödda mekanismerna och det som människan förvärvat genom att ha blivit utsatt för olika mikroorganismer. Forskningen har också haft stor betydelse för olika sjukdomars uppkomst, såsom cancer och inflammationssjukdomar, samt hur dessa kan förebyggas och behandlas.