Israelis and U.S. Scientist Share Nobel Chemistry Prize

December 27, 2004

Israelis Aaron Ciechanover and Avram Hershko and American Irwin Rose won the 10 million Swedish kronor (US $1.36 million) prize for discovering a “kiss of death” marker for proteins, helping explain the immune system, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in its citation. Ciechanover and Hershko, both from the Technion in Haifa, and Rose, from the University of California in Irvine, will share the prize.

The “regulated protein degradation” that they discovered in the late 1970s and 1980s governs such processes as cell division, DNA repair, and the quality of new protein production, and important parts of immune defense. “When the degradation does not work correctly, we fall ill. Cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis are two examples,” said the citation, adding that such knowledge “offers an opportunity to develop drugs against these diseases and others.”

For further information, please contact the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Technion City, Haifa 32000, Israel; Tel: 972-4-829-2111; E-mail: [email protected]; Web site: www.technion.ac.il

By Reuters

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