Katalin Kariko of Hungary and Drew Weissman of the United States won the Nobel Medicine Prize on Monday for work on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology that paved the way for Covid-19 vaccines.
The pair, who had been tipped as favourites, were honoured for “for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19,” the jury said.
“The laureates contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times,” it added.
On December 10, the anniversary of the scientist Alfred Nobel’s passing in 1896, who instituted the prizes in his final will and testament, the two will be presented with their prize by King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal event in Stockholm. The prize will be comprised of a diploma, a gold medal, and a $1 million check.
The Neanderthal genome was sequenced by Swedish paleogeneticist Svante Paabo, who also found the previously unidentified hominid Denisova. He received the Medicine Prize the previous year.
The announcement of the winners of the Physics Prize on Tuesday and the Chemistry Prize on Wednesday will mark the continuation of the Nobel season this week.
The much awaited awards for literature on Thursday and peace on Friday will come after them.
The Economics Prize winds things up on Monday, October 9.
