Nobel Prizes: Cancer, Vision and the Genetic Code

by Erling Norrby  (Author)

“Cancer is a dreaded disease in man. In spite of this very few Nobel Prizes in physiology or medicine have focused directly on means of identifying and treating this kind of disease. However, in 1966 the prize recognized Peyton Rous, who had discovered that viruses can cause tumors in animals and Charles Huggins, who had introduced hormone treatment of human cancers. Rous had to wait more than 50 years for his prize from the time when he made the discovery and he remains the oldest prize recipient in this discipline (87 years old). The view of the role of viruses in cancer has shifted over time. There was a period when it was proposed that they were of importance for the development of all forms of cancer. This oncogene theory was wrong but by use of viruses as tools it was possible to identify critical groups of cellular genes, that when not functioning properly, might cause cancer or alternatively suppress the disease. These studies have given a comprehensive picture of the role of changes in the genetic material in the progressive developments towards severe forms of cancers. The rear parts of eyes are extensions of the central nervous system. They have a fascinating intrinsic complexity, the neurophysiology and biochemistry of which has been progressively analyzed. These revealing studies concern both our capacity to distinguish different colors and also our ability to see in the dark. The prize in 1967 identified seminal contributions in this wide field by Ragnar Granit, Haldan Hartline and George Wald. The Prize in 1968 stands out. It recognized Robert Holley, Ghobind Khorana and Marshall Nirenberg who in different ways had contributed to the cracking of the genetic code. There are 64 code words, the codons, each one composed of three nucleotides, the building stones of DNA. These codons control the position of a specific amino acid among the 20 that exist in a growing chain of a specific protein. Insights into the language used by Nature, since the dawn of cellular life some 4.6 billion years ago, have completely revolutionized modern life sciences. The capacity to read and also to write the books of life has defined new kinds of science, deepening our understanding of the magic of evolution and opened the possibilities for molecular medicine by understanding the genetic background to diseases, not least cancer.”