NEW DELHI: Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman have been given the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research on nucleoside base alterations, which paved the way for the creation of Covid-19 mRNA vaccines creation of the Covid-19 vaccine
“This year’s laureates have radically altered our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system through their ground-breaking discoveries. During one of the greatest risks to human health in modern times, they have helped to accelerate the creation of vaccines at a previously unheard-of rate, according to the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, which made the news on Monday.
According to the organization, the researchers presented their findings in a landmark 2005 publication that at the time received little notice but set the stage for significant advancements that helped humanity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Two incredibly successful mRNA-based Covid-19 vaccines were approved in late 2020 as a result of the research by US researchers Weissman and Karikó, both of Hungarian descent. The immunizations have avoided catastrophic disease in many more people and saved millions of lives.
The Medicine/Physiology Prize has recognized important discoveries over the years, including the X-ray, penicillin, insulin, and DNA. It has also given now-discredited honors to the lobotomy and the insecticide DDT.
The Nobel Prize is what?
This week’s events will include the announcement of the Nobel prizes, probably the most prestigious honors in the world.
The awards, worth 11 million Swedish crowns (about $1 million each), are also granted for accomplishments in physics, chemistry, literature, and peace on October 3 and 6, respectively. On October 9, the Nobel Prize in Economics will be announced.
Alfred Nobel, a well-to-do Swedish inventor, established the Nobel Prize by specifying in his will that money from his estate should go toward “prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”
Although Nobel passed away in 1895, the first awards weren’t given out until 1901 as a result of litigation over his bequest.
Nobel designated the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to present the chemistry and physics prizes, the Swedish Academy to present the literary prize, the Karolinska Institute in Sweden to present the physiology or medicine prize, and the Norwegian Parliament to present the peace prize.
