William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza won the 2019 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine "for discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability", the award-giving body said on Monday.
"The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019 was 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'," the Nobel Assembly at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute said in a statement.
The statement said the scholars identified molecular machinery that regulates the activity of genes in response to varying levels of oxygen.
"They established the basis for our understanding of how oxygen levels affect cellular metabolism and physiological function. Their discoveries have also paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and many other diseases," it added.
Nobel Prizes in physiology or medicine have been awarded since 1901.
