Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize (Swedish pronunciation: [nʊˈbɛl], Swedish definite form, singular: Nobelpriset; Norwegian: Nobelprisen) is a set of annual international awards bestowed in a number of categories by Swedish and Norwegian committees in recognition of academic, cultural and/or scientific advances.

The will of the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel established the prizes in 1895. The prizes in Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine were first awarded in 1901. The related Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was established by Sweden's central bank in 1968. Medals made before 1980 were struck in 23 carat gold, and later from 18 carat green gold plated with a 24 carat gold coating. Between 1901 and 2015, the Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economic Sciences were awarded 573 times to 900 people and organizations. With some receiving the Nobel Prize more than once, this makes a total of 870 individuals (822 men and 48 women) and 23 organizations.

The prize ceremonies take place annually in Stockholm, Sweden, except for the peace prize which is held in Oslo, Norway and each recipient, or laureate, receives a gold medal, a diploma and a sum of money that has been decided by the Nobel Foundation. (As of 2012, each prize was worth SEK8 million or about US$1.2 million, €0.93 million or £0.6 million.) The Nobel Prize is widely regarded as the most prestigious award available in the fields of literature, medicine, physics, chemistry, peace, and economics.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (Swedish: Nobelpriset i fysiologi eller medicin), administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the fields of life sciences and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will. Nobel was personally interested in experimental physiology and wanted to establish a prize for progress through scientific discoveries in laboratories. The Nobel prize is presented to the recipient(s) at an annual ceremony on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobel's death, along with a diploma and a certificate for the monetary award. The front side of the medal provides the same profile of Alfred Nobel as depicted on the medals for Physics, Chemistry, and Literature; its reverse side is unique to this medal.

As of 2015, 106 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded to 198 men and 12 women. The first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded in 1901 to the German physiologist Emil von Behring, for his work on serum therapy and the development of a vaccine against diphtheria. The first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Gerty Cori, received it in 1947 for her role in elucidating the metabolism of glucose, important in many aspects of medicine, including treatment of diabetes.

Yoshinori Ohsumi

Yoshinori Ohsumi (大隅 良典, Ōsumi Yoshinori) (born February 9, 1945) is a Japanese cell biologist specializing in autophagy, is a professor in Tokyo Institute of Technology 's Frontier Research Center. He received the Kyoto Prize for Basic Science in 2012.

Biography

Ohsumi was born February 9, 1945 in Fukuoka, Japan. He received a B.Sci. in 1967 and a D.Sci. in 1974, both from Tokyo University; from 1974-77 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Rockefeller University in New York City.

He returned to The University of Tokyo in 1977 as a Research Associate; he was appointed Lecturer there in 1986, and promoted to Associate Professor in 1988. In 1996 he moved to the National Institute for Basic Biology in Okazaki City, Japan. where he was appointed Professor. From 2004 to 2009 he was also professor at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Hayama, Japan. In 2009 he transitioned to a three-way appointment as Emeritus Professor at the National Institute for Basic Biology and at the Graduate University for Advanced Studies, and a Professorship at the University of Tokyo.

Medicine

Medicine (British English ⁱ/ˈmɛdsᵻn/; American English ⁱ/ˈmɛdᵻsᵻn/) is the science and practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. The word medicine is derived from Latin medicus, meaning "a physician". Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness.

Contemporary medicine applies biomedical sciences, biomedical research, genetics, and medical technology to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury and disease, typically through pharmaceuticals or surgery, but also through therapies as diverse as psychotherapy, external splints and traction, medical devices, biologics, and ionizing radiation, amongst others.

Medicine has existed for thousands of years, during most of which it was an art (an area of skill and knowledge) frequently having connections to the religious and philosophical beliefs of local culture. For example, a medicine man would apply herbs and say prayers for healing, or an ancient philosopher and physician would apply bloodletting according to the theories of humorism. In recent centuries, since the advent of science, most medicine has become a combination of art and science (both basic and applied, under the umbrella of medical science). While stitching technique for sutures is an art learned through practice, the knowledge of what happens at the cellular and molecular level in the tissues being stitched arises through science.