By SELENA ESTRADA
Student Writer
According to Nobelprize.org, the Nobel prizes in chemistry, physics, and medicine were awarded to eight individuals this year. Nominations, however, are restricted to disclosure of information until 50 years have passed.
The Chemistry Nobel Prize was awarded and shared among Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich, and Aziz Sancar for mechanistic studies of DNA repair. Their discoveries about how cells repair themselves will pave the way to new treatment that will fight aging and cancer.
The Nobel prize in physics was awarded and shared between Takaaki Kajita and Arthur B. McDonald for their discovery of neutrino oscillations, a phrase that means that neutrinos have mass, contrary to previous beliefs. Kajita and McDonald also discovered that these subatomic particles possess the ability to change identities.
The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to William C. Campbell, Satoshi Omura, and Youyou Tu for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites and for discovering a novel therapy against Malaria. Tu discovered artemisinin, which is a drug that battles the malaria parasite. Nearly one-third of the world’s population is affected by parasitic worms, so these discoveries will have a significant impact in the future.
The process for the selection of Nobel Laureates consists of seven steps. In the month of September invitations to nominate are sent out. Jan 31 is the deadline for submissions of the nominations. Consultations with experts happen March-May. June-August the writing of the report with recommendations occurs. On September the Academy gets report on final candidates. After a majority vote on October, the Nobel Prize is announced. Finally the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony takes place in December.