Nobel Prize for Medicine awarded to trio who discovered how cells sense oxygen

Totojang/iStock(NEW YORK) — Three scientists have been announced as the winners of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering how cells “sense and adapt to oxygen availability,” the Nobel Committee announced Monday.

William G. Kaelin, Jr, Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza will share equally the 9 million kronor ($918,000) cash award.

BREAKING NEWS:
The 2019 #NobelPrize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza “for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.” pic.twitter.com/6m2LJclOoL

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 7, 2019

The Karolinska Institute said that the discoveries made by the three men “have fundamental importance for physiology and have paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and many other diseases.”