Nobel Prize In Chemistry 2012
By: Yash Dalvi, Beth Crawford, Andrew Cui
Biography
Biography
Brian K. Kobilka
Born: May 30, 1955
Place of Birth: Little Falls, MN
Date of Death: N/A
Education: University of Minnesota, Yale University
Place of Work: Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
Scientific Field: Biochemistry
Interesting Fact: Biked in the Tour de France
Robert Lefkowitz
Born: April 15, 1943
Place of Birth: New York, NY
Date of Death: N/A
Education: Columbia College of Columbia University in the City of New York, Harvard University, Columbia University, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Place of Work: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
Scientific Field: Biochemistry
Interesting Fact: Played piano and drums
Information
Research and Experiments:
- Knew that cells had “sensors” that reacted to light and hormones
- Wanted to locate the sensors to understand them better
- Attached radioactive iodine to hormone which allowed them to track the sensor
- Lefkowitz and his research team found them and extracted them
- Kobilka was hired to find the gene that codes for the receptor
- Had to pick it out of the gigantic human genome
Results:
- Found the gene that codes for the receptors
- Found that they were similar to the receptors in eyes that react to light
- Concluded that they were from a same family
- Took a picture of the receptor in action
- Added to the understanding of G protein coupled receptors
Why they won:
- The Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of G-Protein Coupled Receptors (a type of receptor in the body that allows for responses to the environment)
- The discovery of these receptors was important to further knowledge of the body’s functions
- Kobilka helped activate the receptor and the crystallized molecular structure of a G-protein-coupled receptor.
- This discovery did not challenge any previous knowledge, but rather it built on previous knowledge.
- Currently, the structure and functions of the body is being better understood.
- In the future this discovery will aid in the development of of new drugs and treatments.