This year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine went to Hungarian Katalin Karekó and American Drew Wiseman. Their research has enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines during the Corona pandemic. Carrico and Weissman conducted their research together at the University of Pennsylvania in the United States.

With vaccines that work using mRNA technology, the body itself produces a protein from the virus based on the genetic material, against which the body produces antibodies.

“With their pioneering findings, the researchers have contributed to the unprecedented speed of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in the modern era,” the Nobel Committee said.

Nobel Prizes are the most important scientific awards in the world. The prizes are awarded every year on December 10, the anniversary of the death of inventor Alfred Nobel and also International Human Rights Day. The awards are like every year in Sweden, except for the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. This prestigious award is awarded in Norway.

The prize money increased by one million Swedish krona this year, due to the depreciation of the Swedish currency. 11 million kroner were saved for each category (more than 950 thousand euros), compared to 10 million last year.

Last year, the Nobel Prize in Medicine went to Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo. He mapped the genetic makeup of Neanderthals and discovered an extinct hominid. He also discovered that there was a genetic transfer between Neanderthals and modern humans, Homo sapiens. Modern humans carry genes from these extinct humans.