Professor Svante Pääbo (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology) with a sample of ancient human DNA. Photo from 2016.
Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. “He was awarded the prize for his research on the genomes of extinct hominids and human evolution,” the Nobel committee said. Nils-Goran Larsson from the Nobel Committee explained the significance of Paabo’s work: “His contribution, which was decisive for the award, is that he has developed methods for the analysis and reconstruction of ancient DNA. DNA in ancient bones is subject to significant degradation and chemical damage, and it is also heavily contaminated by contact with bacteria and people who have worked with the samples. Paabo used existing technologies as they evolved and implemented his own methods to refine the analysis of ancient DNA.
Last year, the Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian. They discovered how external temperature or touch, for example, triggers nerve impulses and transforms them into human sensations. Paabo is a Swedish biologist and one of the founders of paleogenetics. Svante Pääbo has sequenced the genome of a Neanderthal, an extinct relative of modern humans. The scientist also discovered that gene transfer from now-extinct hominids to Homo sapiens occurred after migration out of Africa about 70,000 years ago. In practical terms, this study is important because these genes continue to influence modern humans – for example, how our immune systems respond to infection.
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From the beginning of his career, Paabo was interested in whether modern genetic research methods could be applied to the study of Neanderthal DNA. He encountered a serious problem: over time, DNA undergoes chemical changes and breaks down into short fragments. This did not stop Paabo, who continued to work on methods to study the DNA of ancient people. Together with his colleagues, Paabo developed a special technique to extract DNA from remains as completely as possible. In 2008, a fragment of a 40,000-year-old finger bone was discovered in the Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. Paabo’s team discovered that the bone contained incredibly well-preserved DNA and began their work. In 2010, specialists finally deciphered the DNA sequence of the so-called Denisovan human. Paabo’s discoveries have improved our understanding of evolutionary history. We now know that at the time Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa, Eurasia was populated by at least two extinct populations of hominids. Neanderthals lived in the western part of Eurasia, while Denisovans inhabited the eastern part of the continent.
At the same time, it cannot be said that Paabo’s victory was predictable. The authoritative Clarivate, while not involved in predictions, annually compiles a list of the best scientific papers based on their citations. This year, Paabo’s work did not make the list of “citation laureates.” Many experts expected the Nobel Prize to be awarded for research more closely related to medicine. Since 1901, a total of 112 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded to 224 individuals. The prize was not awarded nine times: 1915-1918, 1921, 1925, and 1940-1942. The charter of the Nobel Foundation states: “If none of the works considered proves to be of the importance mentioned in the first paragraph, the prize money shall be withheld until the following year”. 39 awards in the field of medicine were given to only one recipient. 34 awards were shared by two recipients. 39 awards were shared by three recipients.
The statutes of the Nobel Foundation state: “The amount of the prize may be divided equally between two works, each of which is considered worthy of the prize. If a work eligible for the prize is the work of two or three persons, the prize shall be awarded jointly to them. The prize will not be awarded to more than three persons at the same time. There are 12 women among the winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Among them, only Barbara McClintock received it alone, without co-authors, in 1983. To date, the youngest Nobel laureate in physiology or medicine is Frederick G. Banting, who received the prize in 1923 at the age of 32. The oldest winner is Peyton Roux, who was 87 years old when he received the award in 1966. The Nobel Committee’s database contains interesting facts about the nominations. For example, the Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), was nominated 32 times for the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, but never received it. In 1929, the Nobel Committee for Medicine hired an expert who concluded that Freud’s candidacy did not warrant further consideration because his work lacked proven scientific value. In 1936, Freud was even nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. This was done by Freud’s acquaintance, Nobel laureate Romain Rolland. According to the committee’s rules, the names of the nominees are kept secret for 50 years, so it will be half a century before we find out who the competitors of this year’s laureates were. Scientists often have to wait decades for their work to be recognized: the scientific community wants to ensure that a particular scientific breakthrough will stand the test of time. Nobel’s will states that the prizes are to be awarded to those who have done the most for humanity during the previous year. The World Prize Committee is the only committee that does not deviate from this rule and regularly awards a prize for achievements in the previous year. Alfred Nobel bequeathed the bulk of his estate, more than 31 million Swedish kronor (which today is more than 1.7 billion kronor, about $153 million), for this purpose. It was converted into a fund and invested in reliable securities. The income from the investments was to be distributed annually as prizes to those who had made the greatest contributions to humanity during the previous year. The total amount of the Nobel Prize for 2022 is set at 10 million Swedish kronor (approximately $900,000).