US scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian jointly won the Nobel Medicine Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries on receptors for temperature and touch, the Nobel assembly announced on Monday.
“Their discoveries have unlocked one of the secrets of nature by explaining the molecular basis for sensing heat, cold and mechanical force, which is fundamental for our ability to feel, interpret and interact with our internal and external environment,” said the Nobel Foundation.
“The groundbreaking discoveries… by this year’s Nobel Prize laureates have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world,” the Nobel jury said.
The pair’s research is being used to develop treatments for a wide range of diseases and conditions, including chronic pain.
Julius, who in 2019 won the $3-million Breakthrough Prize in life sciences, said he was stunned to receive the call from the Nobel committee early Monday.
“One never really expects that to happen …I thought it was a prank,” he told Swedish Radio.
The Nobel Foundation meanwhile posted a picture of Patapoutian next to his son Luca after hearing the happy news.
Our ability to sense heat, cold, and touch is essential for survival, the Nobel Committee explained, and underpins our interaction with the world around us.
“In our daily lives we take these sensations for granted, but how are nerve impulses initiated so that temperature and pressure can be perceived? This question has been solved by this year’s Nobel Prize laureates.”
Prior to their discoveries, “our understanding of how the nervous system senses and interprets our environment still contained a fundamental unsolved question: how are temperature and mechanical stimuli converted into electrical impulses in the nervous system.”
Learn more about the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
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