Svante Paabo, a Swedish paleogeneticist, has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2022. Paabo received the award for sequencing the Neanderthal genome and discovering the previously unknown hominin Denisova.
“By revealing genetic differences that distinguish all living humans from extinct hominins, his discoveries provide the basis for exploring what makes us uniquely human,” the Nobel committee said.
“He was overwhelmed, he was speechless. Very happy,” added Thomas Perlmann, the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine’s secretary, who gave Paabo the news over the phone. “He asked if he could tell anyone and asked if he could tell his wife and I said that was okay. He was incredibly thrilled about this award.”
Svante Paabo’s research
Paabo, the Nobel Prize-winning biologist Sune Bergstrom’s son, is the director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology’s genetics department. He discovered that gene transfer from these now-extinct hominins to Homo sapiens occurred around 70,000 years ago, following the migration out of Africa.
“This ancient flow of genes to present-day humans has physiological relevance today, for example affecting how our immune system reacts to infections”, the jury said.
He is credited for revolutionizing the study of human origins by creating methods that make it possible to analyze DNA sequences from ancient and fossilized remains. His most notable accomplishments include sequencing the whole genome of a Neanderthal to show the connection between extinct people and present humans. From a 40,000-year-old finger bone fragment found in Siberia, he also revealed the existence of a hitherto undiscovered human race known as the Denisovans.
The award comes with a monetary prize of 10 million Swedish kronor ($901,500)
Paabo reported in a 2020 study that COVID-19 patients with a snippet of Neanderthal DNA have a higher risk of severe disease complications.
The award comes with a monetary prize of 10 million Swedish kronor ($901,500). Paabo, 67, will receive the award from King Carl XVI Gustaf during a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the death of scientist Alfred Nobel, who established the prizes in his will and testament in 1896.
Last year, the prize was awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian of the United States for their discoveries on temperature and touch receptors, which have been used to develop treatments for a variety of diseases and conditions, including chronic pain.
The Nobel Prize in Physics will be announced on Tuesday
The Nobel Prize in Physics will be announced on Tuesday, and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry will be announced on Wednesday. They will be followed by the much-anticipated Literature and Peace Prizes on Thursday and Friday, respectively, with the Economics Prize wrapping things up on Monday, October 10.
