Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?

St. Paul native shares Nobel medicine prize

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

By KARL RITTER and MALIN RISING
Associated Press

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Americans Randy Schekman, who was born in St. Paul, James Rothman, of Massachusetts, and and German-born researcher Thomas Suedhof won the 2013 Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries on how hormones, enzymes and other key substances are transported within cells.

The Nobel committee said their research on "vesicle traffic" -- the transport system of our cells -- helped scientists understand how "cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time" inside cells.

Disturbances to the system can contribute to diabetes and neurological and immunological disorders, the committee said.

Rothman, 62, is a professor at Yale University while Schekman, 64, is at the University of California, Berkeley. Suedhof, 57, joined Stanford University in 2008.

"My first reaction was, 'Oh, my God!' said Schekman in a statement released by Berkeley. "That was also my second reaction."

The university said Schekman's research led to the success of the biotechnology industry. Schekman studied normal and defective yeast to identify the process of vesicle transport, the university said.

The Nobel committee said Schekman discovered a set of genes that were required for vesicle transport, while Rothman revealed how proteins dock with their target membranes like two sides of a zipper. Sudhof found out how vesicles release their cargo with precision.

``These discoveries have had a major impact on our understanding of how cargo is delivered with timing and precision within and outside the cell,'' the committee said.

Rothman and Schekman won the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award for their research in 2002 _ an award often seen as a precursor of a Nobel Prize.

The medicine prize kicked off this year's Nobel announcements. The awards in physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics will be announced by other prize juries this week and next. Each prize is worth 8 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million).

Established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prizes have been handed out by award committees in Stockholm and Oslo since 1901. The winners always receive their awards on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.

Last year's medicine award went to Britain's John Gurdon and Japan's Shinya Yamanaka for their contributions to stem cell science.