Erwin Neher
Facts
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.
Erwin Neher
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1991
Born: 20 March 1944, Landsberg, Germany
Affiliation at the time of the award: Max-Planck-Institut für Biophysikalische Chemie, Göttingen, Germany
Prize motivation: “for their discoveries concerning the function of single ion channels in cells”
Prize share: 1/2
Work
One of the fundamental processes of life is the transit of charged atoms—ions—through the surface layer of cells that make up organisms. Among other things, this transit is of crucial importance for the transfer of signals in nerves and muscles so that the body functions. Around 1980 Erwin Neher and Bert Sakmann developed a method for measuring the extremely weak currents involved in ion transits. These results confirmed that the transit occurs through ion channels—molecules on the surface of cells that under certain conditions allow ions to pass through.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.
See them all presented here.
