Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Germany's Harald Zur Hausen and France's Luc Montagnier and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi share this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The two French scientists discovered HIV, which quickly led to blood screening and treatments. The German showed that cervical cancer was caused by the human papilloma virus, paving the way to a vaccine. Steve Mirsky reports
SUBSCRIBE TO Science Quickly
[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]
Germany’s Harald zur Hausen and France’s Luc Montagnier and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi share the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded October 6th.
Barre-Sinoussi and Montagnier discovered HIV. Shortly after reports in the early 1980s of a new immunodeficiency syndrome, researchers all over the world raced to find the cause. The two French scientists cultured cells from lymph nodes of patients. They first detected the enzyme reverse transcriptase, which meant that a retrovirus was active. Further searching turned up retroviral particles, which could kill white blood cells and which also reacted with antibodies from infected patients. These discoveries made possible unprecedented rapid development of blood screening techniques and of new antiviral therapies.
Zur Hausen defied the medical establishment and postulated in the 1970s that cervical cancer was caused by the human papilloma virus. He was able to isolate viral DNA in tumors. He also determined that there were multiple kinds of papilloma viruses, and that only some caused cancer. His discovery led to the development of a vaccine against cervical cancer.
—Steve Mirsky
On supporting science journalism
If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
60-Second Science is a daily podcast. Subscribe to this Podcast:
RSS | iTunes
Subscribe to Support Independent Journalism
Great science journalism requires human expertise, time, effort and creativity. And it costs money. That’s why I and the journalists here at Scientific American hope you’ll join our community.
When you subscribe, you are supporting staff and freelance journalists who are passionate about telling science stories that are true, important and compelling. Our editors and reporters are often experts in their fields, which means they understand the nuances of big discoveries and can untangle the breakthroughs from the hype. With a subscription, you are also supporting rigorous fact-checking to ensure the words we publish are precise and accurate. And you’re supporting original illustrations, graphics and photos that bring you closer to an advanced laboratory, an ice sheet in Antarctica or a space mission in orbit. You’re helping us craft other types of high-quality journalism as well: Our newsletters are carefully written, edited and curated by staffers you have or will come to know and love. Our Science Quickly podcast is based on original reporting, collaboration with editors and scientists and exacting production.
Subscriptions keep this engine running so we can continue to deliver thoughtful, rigorous and independent science journalism to you. In an era of viral misinformation, this work is crucial. If you value what we do, I hope you’ll consider joining us as a subscriber
