STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- A pair of U.S. scientists has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on RNA interference, which can help defend against viruses.
Andrew Fire, from Stanford University, and Craig Mello, from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, were notified of the honor Monday morning. They will receive the prize, along with a cash award of about $1.4 million, in ceremonies Dec. 10 in Sweden.
The Nobel award committee said Fire and Mello discovered a fundamental mechanism of the flow of genetic information in ribonucleic acid -- RNA. RNA interference can help in the defense against viral infections. Even though the original research was published on 1998, RNA interference is already being widely used in basic science as a method to study the function of genes and it may lead to new therapies.
The 2006 Nobel Prizes will be announced over the next two weeks, with the Physics Prize unveiled Tuesday and wrapping up with the Peace Prize announcement on Oct. 13.
