Two U.S. scientists and a British scientist have won this year's Nobel Prize in Medicine for discovering how the body's cells sense and react to oxygen levels.
Their research has been honored for paving the way for new strategies to fight diseases, including cancer.
Kim Hyo-sun reports.
This year's Nobel Prize in Medicine has been jointly awarded to three scientists for pioneering research into how human cells sense and respond to changes in oxygen levels.
The 2019 medicine laureates are William Kaelin and Gregg Semenza from the U.S.,... and Peter Ratcliffe from the UK.
The Nobel committee said their discoveries paved the way for "promising new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and many other diseases."
"The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute has today decided to award the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, jointly to William Kaelin, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg Semenza, for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability."
The committee explained the trio's work has greatly expanded knowledge of how physiological responses make life possible,... adding such a response is key to many things, including producing red blood cells and fine-tuning the immune system.
The Nobel Committee also added the scientists are now focused on developing drugs that can treat diseases by either activating or blocking the body's oxygen-sensing machinery.
The winners will share the 918-thousand U.S. dollars cash prize between the three of them.
Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.
