New story in Health from Time: Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded to 3 Scientists for Oxygen Research

STOCKHOLM — The 2019 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to scientists William G. Kaelin, Jr, Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza.

They received the award jointly for their discoveries of “how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability,” the Nobel Committee announced Monday.

Two of the scientists, Kaelin and Semenza, are U.S.-based, at Harvard University and Johns Hopkins respectively. The other scientist, Ratcliffe, is based at the Francis Crick Institute in London.

BREAKING NEWS:
The 2019 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza “for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.” pic.twitter.com/6m2LJclOoL

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2019

It is the 110th prize in the category that has been awarded since 1901.

The Karolinska Institutet said in a statement the trio should share equally the 9 million kronor ($918,000) cash award.

The discoveries made by the three men “have fundamental importance for physiology and have paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and many other diseases,” the Committee said.