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3 Americans share 2009 Nobel medicine prize (AP)
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News)
Submitted at 10/5/2009 8:09:39 AM
STOCKHOLM – AmericansElizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W.Greider and Jack W. Szostak wonthe 2009 Nobel Prize in medicineon Monday for discovering a keymechanism in the geneticoperations of cells, an insight thathas inspired new lines of researchinto cancer.It was the first time two womenhave been among the winners of the medicine prize.The trio solved the mystery of how chromosomes, the rod-likestructures that carry DNA, protectthemselves from degrading whencells divide.The Nobel citation said thelaureates found the solution in theends of the chromosomes —features called telomeres that areoften compared to the plastic tipsat the end of shoe laces that keepthose laces from unraveling.Blackburn and Greiderdiscovered the enzyme that buildstelomeres — telomerase — andthe mechanism by which it addsDNA to the tips of chromosomesto replace genetic material thathas eroded away.The prize-winners' work, donein the late 1970s and 1980s, setthe stage for research suggestingthat cancer cells use telomerase tosustain their uncontrolled growth.Scientists are studying whetherdrugs that block the enzyme canfight the disease. In addition,scientists believe that the DNAerosion the enzyme repairs mightplay a role in some illnesses."The discoveries by Blackburn,Greider and Szostak have added anew dimension to ourunderstanding of the cell, shedlight on disease mechanisms, andstimulated the development of potential new therapies," the prizecommittee said in its citation.Ten women have won theprestigious medicine award sincethe first Nobel Prizes were handedout in 1901, but it was the firsttime that two women werehonored in the same year.Nobel judges say women areunderrepresented in Nobelstatistics because the award-winning research often dates back several decades to a time whenscience was dominated by men.Still, critics say the judges aren'tlooking hard enough for deservingwomen candidates."We don't give Nobel Prizesbecause of gender," medicineprize committee member GoranHansson told The AssociatedPress. "We give it for scientificdiscoveries. As more womenparticipate in research and makescientific discoveries, morewomen will win Nobel Prizes."Blackburn, who holds U.S. andAustralian citizenship, is aprofessor of biology andphysiology at the University of California, San Francisco. Greideris a professor in the department of molecular biology and genetics atJohns Hopkins University Schoolof Medicine in Baltimore.Greider, 48, said she wastelephoned just before 5 a.m. hertime with the news that she hadwon."It's really very thrilling, it'ssomething you can't expect," shetold The Associated Press bytelephone.People might make predictionsof who might win, but one neverexpects it, she said, adding that"It's like the Monty Pythonsketch, 'Nobody expects theSpanish Inquisition!'"Greider described the researchas beginning with experimentsaimed at understanding how cellswork, not with the idea for certainimplications for medicine."Funding for that kind of curiosity-driven science is reallyimportant," she said, adding thatdisease-oriented research isn't theonly way to reach the answer, but"both together are synergistic,"she said.Blackburn, 60, said she wasawakened at 2 a.m."Prizes are always a nice thing,"she told The AP. "It doesn'tchange the research per se, of course, but it's lovely to have therecognition and share it withCarol Greider and Jack Szostak.London-born Szostak, 56, hasbeen at Harvard Medical Schoolsince 1979 and is currentlyprofessor of genetics. He is alsoaffiliated with the HowardHughes Medical Institute."There's always some smallchance that something like thismight happen, so when the phonerang, I thought maybe this is it,so, sure enough," Szostak told theAP.He said winning the prize wasmade sweeter because it alsoincluded Blackburn and Greider."When we started the work, of course, we were really justinterested in the very basicquestion about DNA replication,how the ends of chromosomes aremaintained," he said. "At the timewe had no idea there would be allthese later implications."He said that since then it hadbecome apparent that "thisprocess of maintaining the ends of DNA molecules is very importantand plays an important role incancer and in aging, which arereally still being fully workedout."Hansson said there is a lot of work yet to do to developtherapies for blood, skin and lungdisease based on the winners'breakthroughs.He said telomerase is veryactive in many cancer cells, "andif you turn it off or destroy thecells which have this highactivity, you could be able to treatcancer," he said.The award includes a 10 millionkronor ($1.4 million) purse splitthree ways among the winners, adiploma and an invitation to theprize ceremonies in Stockholm onDec. 10.The researchers have alreadywon a series of medical honors fortheir research. In 2006, theyshared the Lasker prize for basicmedical research, often called"America's Nobel."Some inherited diseases are nowknown to be caused by telomerasedefects, including certain forms of congenital aplastic anemia, inwhich insufficient cell divisions inthe stem cells of the bone marrowlead to severe anemia. Certaininherited diseases of the skin andthe lungs are also caused bytelomerase defects.The Nobel Prizes in physics,chemistry, literature and theNobel Peace Prize will beannounced later this week, whilethe economics award will bepresented on Oct. 12.Prize founder Alfred Nobel, aSwedish industrialist whoinvented dynamite, left fewinstructions on how to selectwinners, but medicine winners aretypically awarded for a specificbreakthrough rather than a bodyof research.Nobel established the prizes inhis will in 1895. The first awardswere handed out six years later.____Associated Press Writers SarahBrumfield in Baltimore, MaryHudetz in Phoenix, Mark Pratt inBoston and Malin Rising inStockholm contributed to thisreport.___On the Net:http://www.nobelprize.org
Nomura to double headcount in the US
(Financial Times - US homepage)
Submitted at 10/5/2009 3:54:39 AM
Nomura said on Monday it waspoised to nearly double headcountin the US by the end of this fiscalyear next March, as it raisesY432bn ($4.8bn) in fresh fundsthrough a heavily subscribed newshare issue.Japan’s largest investmentbanking group is aiming toincrease headcount in the US to1,200 by the end of next March,or twice the number of employeeson its US payroll, compared withJanuary this year.
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