US scientists David Julius, Ardem Patapoutian were awarded the noble prize in medicine on Oct 4. They discovered receptors that allow humans to feel temperature and touch.
They were given the noble prize on Monday announced by the Secretary of the noble committee, Thomas Perlmann.
“The groundbreaking discoveries….by this year’s noble prize laureates have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical forces can initiate the nerves impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world”, the committee said upon announcing the winners.
David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian focused their work on the field of Somalosensation, that is the ability and specialized organs such as eyes, ears and skin to see, hear and feel.
The pair shared the prestigious Kavli award for neuroscience last year.
Last year’s prize in the medical field went to three scientists who discovered the liver-ravaging hepatitis C virus, a breakthrough that led to cures for the deadly disease and tests to keep the scourge from spreading through blood banks.
The developers of vaccines against coronavirus was also one of the contenders .
The prestigious award comes with a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.14m). The prize money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.
