Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2006

Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello
“for their discovery of RNA interference – gene silencing by double-stranded RNA“
Fire and Mello discovered a new way to silence genes, which could be used to understand the function of genes in living systems.
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Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2003

Paul C. Lauterbur and Peter Mansfield
“for their discoveries concerning magnetic resonance imaging”
Lauterbur and Mansfield captured the ability of atomic nuclei to behave like microscopic magnets to view many of life’s essential functions.
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Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1980

Walter Gilbert and Frederick Sanger
“for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids”
Gilbert and Sanger developed different methods to tag and determine the exact sequence of the building blocks in DNA.
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Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1979

Allan M. Cormack and Godfrey N. Hounsfield
“for the development of computer assisted tomography”
CT scans combined X-rays with digital technology to generate three-dimensional views of inner organs and soft tissues.
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Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1972

Christian B. Anfinsen, Stanford Moore and William H. Stein
“for his work on ribonuclease, especially concerning the connection between the amino acid sequence and the biologically active conformation” and “for their contribution to the understanding of the connection between chemical structure and catalytic activity of the active centre of the ribonuclease molecule”
These three researchers showed how the function of a protein is directly related to its amino-acid sequence.
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Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1962

Francis Crick, James Watson, and Maurice Wilkins
“for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material”
The determination of the double-helix structure of DNA helped explain how genetic information is transferred in living material.
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Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1958

Frederick Sanger
“for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin”
Sanger was the first to determine the exact order in which the amino acids of a protein molecule are linked together.
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Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1906

Camillo Golgi and Santiago Ramón y Cajal
“in recognition of their work on the structure of the nervous system”
Golgi’s method of silver staining individual nerve and cell structures was instrumental in understanding the makeup and function of nerves.
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Nobel Prize in Physics 1901

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen
“in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after him”
Röntgen’s mysterious X-rays allowed us to peer inside and see the workings of the human body without surgery.
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First published 8 October 2008.