Japanese cell biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy, a process involving the recycling of cell contents. He is currently a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. “The Nobel Committee announced the prize in Stockholm and said in a statement that the cell biologist “discovered and elucidated mechanisms underlying autophagy, a fundamental process for degrading and recycling cellular components.” The concept of Autophagy emerged during 1960s, but scientists were little aware of it. It was Oshumi, who pioneered the experiments with baker’s yeast in the 1990s. Autophagy has the power to eliminate invading intracellular bacteria, and disrupted autophagy has been linked to Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes and other disorders that particularly affect the elderly.
Autophagy:
The term “autophagy” means “self eating”, which was first coined by scientists studying cell behaviour in the 1960s. It is very significant process in human body. During starvation, cells break down proteins and nonessential components and reuse them for energy. Dr. Oshumi discovered autophagy genes and metabloic pathways in yeast, which are used by higher organisms, including humans. His work led to a new field and inspired hundreds of researchers around the world to study the process and opened a new area of inquiry.
The statement of the Nobel Committee read, “Autophagy can rapidly provide fuel for energy and building blocks for renewal of cellular components, and is therefore essential for the cellular response to starvation and other types of stress. After infection, autophagy can eliminate invading intracellular bacteria and viruses.”
Dr. Oshumi completed his Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo in 1974. Though he started out in chemistry, he later switched to molecular biology. He switched to studying the duplication of DNA in yeast. That work led him to a junior professor position at the University of Tokyo where he picked up a microscope and started peering at sacks in yeast where cell components are degraded — work that eventually brought him, at age 43, to the discoveries that the Nobel Assembly recognized on Monday.
As per reports, 273 scientists were nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this year.
Ohsumi's work on autophagy - how the body breaks down and recycles cellular components - helps explain what goes wrong in a range of diseases, from cancer to Parkinson's.
The Nobel committee, while announcing the Prize in Stockholm, said in a statement that this year's Nobel Laureate “discovered and elucidated mechanisms underlying autophagy, a fundamental process for degrading and recycling cellular components.”
The Karolinska Institute honored Ohsumi for "brilliant experiments" in the 1990s on autophagy, the machinery with which cells recycle their content.
It was the 107th award in the medicine category since the first Nobel Prizes were handed out in 1905.
Last year's prize was shared by three scientists who developed treatments for malaria and other tropical diseases.
The announcements continue with physics on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, with each prize receiving 8 million kronor ($930,000).
The economics and literature awards will be announced next week.
Yoshinori Ohsumi is the sixth Medicine Laureate born in Japan.
Ohsumi was born on February 9, 1945 in Fukuoka, Japan.He is currently a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology.
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