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This year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Swedish scientist Svante Pabo for his discoveries about human evolution.
Mr. Pabo, 67, was the first to compare the genomes of modern humans with our nearest extinct relatives, Neanderthals and Denisovans, and the results suggest admixture between the two species.
The Nobel committee says his research has provided key insights into our immune system and how we are unique compared to our extinct cousins.
Nobel committee secretary Thomas Perlman announced the laureates on Monday at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
Breaking News: 2022 #nobel prize Svante Pääbo received a doctorate in physiology or medicine “for his discoveries about the extinct human genome and human evolution”. pic.twitter.com/fGFYYnCO6J
— Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 3, 2022
Mr. Pabo has pioneered new techniques that allow researchers to compare the genomes of modern humans with those of other ancient humans.
While Neanderthal bones were first discovered in the mid-19th century, it is only by unlocking their DNA that scientists can fully understand the connections between these species.
That includes the time when modern humans and Neanderthals diverged as a species, determined to be about 800,000 years ago, said Anna Weddell, chair of the Nobel Committee.
“Paabo and his team also surprisingly found that genes flowed from Neanderthals to Homo sapiens, suggesting that they had children during their coexistence,” she said.
This gene transfer between human species affects how modern humans’ immune systems respond to infections such as coronaviruses. About 1-2% of people outside Africa have Neanderthal genes.
Mr. Paabo conducted award-winning research at the University of Munich in Germany and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. He is the son of Sune Bergstrom, winner of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Say good morning to our new Medicine Prize winner Svante Pääbo!
Pääbo got the message while enjoying a cup of coffee. After the shock subsided, the first thing he thought about was whether to share the news with his wife, Linda.
Photo: Linda Vigilant pic.twitter.com/l27hnzojaL
— Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 3, 2022
The Medicine Prize kicks off a week of Nobel Prize announcements.
Prizes for physics continue on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday, and the Economics Prize will be announced on October 10.
A cash prize of SEK 10 million (about £800,000) will be awarded on 10 December.
The money comes from the legacy of the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.
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