Tuesday, October 04, 2011

HEALTH - First of This Year's Nobel Prizes

"Nobels Honor Immune System Research Paving Way for New Vaccines, Treatments" PBS Newshour 10/3/2011

Excerpt

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour): In the words of the Nobel Committee, the three laureates have revolutionized our understanding of the immune system by discovering key principles for its activation.

American Bruce Beutler and French scientist Jules Hoffmann won for their discovery of the mechanism that triggers innate immune responses. Canadian Ralph Steinman, who taught for many years at Rockefeller University in New York, shared the prize for discovering the trigger for so-called adaptive immune responses.

Shortly after the prize was announced, news also came that Dr. Steinman had died this past Friday. And while the prize is generally not awarded posthumously, the Nobel Foundation announced that, in this case, its decision would stand.

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