Two American Women Win Nobel Prize for Medicine

by Danine Spencer · 2009-10-05 12:30:00 UTC
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Two American scientists, Elizabeth H. Blackburn and Carol W. Greider, won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday. Blackburn and Greider, along with their colleague Jack W. Szostak, won "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase."

Telomeres are structures at the base of chromosomes that protect the ends of the fragile DNA structure. As a result, telomeres protect the DNA and prevent the introduction of DNA mutations which keeps the cell healthy. Telomerase is an enzyme that builds the telomeres. Essentially, Blackburn, Greider and Szostak's research showed that healthy telomeres keep cells from aging and becoming damaged.

With Dr. Blackburn and Dr. Greider's wins, the Nobel Prize has now been awarded to women 38 times. In contrast, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to 781 men in Literature, Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, Peace and Economics.

A woman has never won a Nobel for Economics. Dr. Blackburn and Dr. Greider are among the ten women who have won for Physiology or Medicine. The Nobel Prize in Physics and Chemistry has only been awarded to women five times, including twice to Marie Curie, who won for Physics in 1903 and for Chemistry in 1911. Pearl Buck and Toni Morrison were among the eleven women to win for Literature. Mother Theresa and Aung San Suu Kyi are just two of the twelve female Nobel Peace Prize Laureates.

I am thrilled that Dr. Blackburn and Dr. Greider's important work has been recognized by the Nobel Foundation. Still, it is really hard to believe women have only made 4.63% of the last century's "outstanding achievements", the criteria by which Nobel Prizes are awarded. The Nobel Foundation needs to do better in recognizing women's contributions. The rest of the 2009 Nobel Prizes will be announced this week and next week so stay tuned. Hopefully, the Blackburn and Greider's win is a sign of things to come.

See the list of all female Nobel Laureates. Here is more on Blackburn, Greider and Szostak's Nobel Prize-winning research.

[Photo credit: nobelprize.org.]

Danine Spencer
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