The immune system is primed to respond to disease-bearing microbes of almost any description, but what was far from clear was exactly what measures it uses to defeat any such attack. The approaches that the two recipients of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine took to uncovering the answer differed in philosophies and…

Viruses, such as those that cause the common cold or flu, are a particularly devious form of intruder to tackle. Once they enter their host, these infectious agents find cells to hide in while they reproduce in order to infiltrate more targets. Fortunately for us our internal defence system has a trick up its sleeve…

For virtually every invading pathogen, be it a bacterium, virus or another microorganism, the body has a unique antibody specially designed to stop it in its tracks. Made and released by a special type of white blood cell, B lymphocytes, antibodies search for and bind to a distinctive molecule located on the assigned invader, sending…

While fighting off infectious agents, our immune defences must take extreme care to avoid harming any cells belonging to its own host. Achieving this requires a sophisticated self-identification system, and this is centred on a collection of genes called the major histocompatibility complex, or MHC, which encode proteins known collectively as histocompatibility antigens. Each individual…

At first glance, one person’s blood looks no different from another’s, but appearances can be dangerously deceptive. Early attempts at carrying out blood transfusions in humans were highly unpredictable, often triggering a hazardous and potentially fatal reaction. Examining the underlying cause of such bad blood between people led Karl Landsteiner to discover the existence of…

For natural biological molecules to interact effectively they need to identify that they are at the correct location, and the most effective means for achieving this lies in recognising their partner’s shape and the chemistry of their interaction. The best-known instance of this molecular recognition is the way in which enzymes are shaped exactly to…

The Nobel Prize in Medicine for 2003 rewards the idea that a method used to identify the contents of a test tube could also be used to visualize the contents of our bodies. Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, has emerged as a powerful medical accompaniment to X-rays and CT scans, providing strikingly clear pictures of…

The elevation of the humble mouse to become many scientists’ experimental animal of choice has been one of the scientific phenomena of the last two decades. Today, genetically-altered mice are an essential component of the experimental toolkit, with thousands of varieties contributing to research in laboratories around the world. Their existence stems from discoveries made…

Looking back over the two discoveries rewarded with the 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine reveals two different timelines for discovery research. One, Harald zur Hausen’s realization that subtypes of a virus that produces harmless warts can also lead to cervical cancer, took a decade of work to prove, initially against a backdrop of…

Every cell in our bodies contains our entire genome, the blueprint for life, wrapped up within its chromosomes. Each time one of our cells divides to form two new cells, its chromosomes need to be perfectly replicated so that each new cell receives an exact copy of the blueprint. As early as the 1930s, long…