Stockholm, Oct 4 (BUS): Two American molecular biologists, David Julius and Erdem Patabutian, have won the 2021 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on how heat, cold and mechanical force can trigger nerve impulses in the human body. international.
Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, the body responsible for awarding the prize for medicine, announced Monday that the two “have identified critical missing links in our understanding of the complex interaction between our senses and the environment.”
The institute added that the knowledge gained through their discoveries is being used to develop treatments for a range of conditions, including chronic pain.
American scientist Julius began his pioneering work with capsaicin, a pungent compound from hot peppers that causes a burning sensation. This led to the discovery of a sensor in the nerve endings of the skin that responds to heat.
Meanwhile, Lebanon-born Patabotian has used pressure-sensitive cells to discover a new class of sensors that respond to mechanical stimuli. This Beirut-born moved to California in his teenage years, where he now works as a scientist at Scripps Research in La Jolla.
Speculation has been rife that this year’s Medicine Prize will honor efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic, particularly those behind the development of the mRNA technology used in some pioneering vaccines.
Professor Munira stressed that Julius and Patabotian’s discoveries were not completely unrelated to the Corona virus, as the sensors they discovered are also those we use to feel physical closeness with others, and most clearly when you get a hug, something that many people have been lacking during the year and a half the past two years.
The actual awards – consisting of a medal, a diploma and 10 million kronor ($1.1 million) – are due to be handed out on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
But due to the pandemic, the organizers have already decided that none of the winners will be physically present for the ceremony in Stockholm.
There is still an opportunity for Economics Prize recipients to appear in person at the event, which was organized separately, in Oslo.
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