Scientists win chemistry Nobel for DNA repair studies
| Stockholm
Three聽scientists聽from Sweden, the聽United States, and聽Turkey聽won聽the Nobel聽Prize聽in聽chemistry聽on聽Wednesday聽for showing聽how聽cells聽repair聽damaged聽DNA.
Swedish聽scientist聽Tomas Lindahl, American Paul Modrich, and U.S.-Turkish national Aziz Sancar shared the 8 million Swedish kronor (about $960,000) award.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said their聽work聽on聽DNA聽repair聽"has provided fundamental knowledge of how a living聽cell functions."
Lindahl is an emeritus group leader at Francis Crick Institute and Emeritus director of聽Cancer聽Research UK at Clare Hall Laboratory in Britain.
Modrich is an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute and professor at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.
Sancar is a professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Sancar is the second Turk to win a聽Nobel聽Prize聽after novelist Orhan Pamuk was awarded the literature聽prize聽in 2006.
"I'm sure there will be (celebrations in Turkey)," Sancar said. "Yes, they've been asking over the years and I was tired of hearing 'when are you going to get the Nobel聽Prize?' so I'm glad for my country as well."
Speaking by phone to a聽news聽conference in Stockholm, Lindahl said "it was a surprise" to win the award.
In the 1970s Lindahl showed that DNA, the molecule that contains our genes, actually聽decays at a rate that should be incompatible with human life.聽He realized that there must a聽repair mechanism, opening a聽new聽field of research, the academy said.
Working聽at Yale University, Sancar mapped the mechanism that聽cells聽use聽to聽repair DNA damaged by ultraviolet radiation. Modrich聽showed聽how the聽cell corrects errors when聽DNA聽is replicated during聽cell聽division, a process known as mismatch聽repair.
The findings, say scientists, are significant for聽cancer research. Researchers are now looking at ways to destroy cancer cells' DNA repair mechanisms, academy member Peter Brzezinski said.
The award will be handed out along with the other聽Nobel聽Prizes聽on Dec. 10, the anniversary of聽prize聽founder Alfred聽Nobel's death in 1896.
This year's medicine聽prize聽went to聽scientists from Japan, the聽United States, and China who discovered drugs to fight malaria and other tropical diseases. Japanese and Canadian scientists聽won聽the physics聽prize聽for discovering that tiny particles called neutrinos have mass.
The聽Nobel聽announcements continue with literature on Thursday, the聽Nobel聽Peace聽Prize on Friday and the economics award on Monday.
___
AP Science Writer Malcolm Ritter in聽New聽York contributed to this report.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
