Avraham Hershko, 67, and Aharon Tchachnover (Ciechanover), 57, - two Israeli professors from the Technion University in Haifa - and an American, Irwin Rose of the University of California, 78, are the winners of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2004.
Their research, carried out in the 1980's, found an important way in which unwanted proteins are destroyed in the human body. The process, called a chemical "kiss of death," can sometimes lead to unwanted consequences, and the research can help find new therapies.
The three winners will share in the $1.3 million prize. This is the first time that an Israeli has won a Nobel science prize; Israelis have won Nobels in the areas of peace (Menachem Begin, Yitzchak Rabin and Shimon Peres), literature (Shmuel Yosef Agnon) and economics (Daniel Kahneman, an Israeli citizen and Princeton University professor).
Their research, carried out in the 1980's, found an important way in which unwanted proteins are destroyed in the human body. The process, called a chemical "kiss of death," can sometimes lead to unwanted consequences, and the research can help find new therapies.
The three winners will share in the $1.3 million prize. This is the first time that an Israeli has won a Nobel science prize; Israelis have won Nobels in the areas of peace (Menachem Begin, Yitzchak Rabin and Shimon Peres), literature (Shmuel Yosef Agnon) and economics (Daniel Kahneman, an Israeli citizen and Princeton University professor).