NEW YORK (JTA) – The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded to three scientists who identified the hepatitis C virus.
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The prize was awarded Monday to Harvey Alter of the National Institutes of Health, Michael Houghton of the University of Alberta, and Charles Rice of Rockefeller University.
“The Nobel Laureates’ discovery of Hepatitis C virus is a landmark achievement in the ongoing battle against viral diseases. Thanks to their discovery, highly sensitive blood tests for the virus are now available and these have essentially eliminated post-transfusion hepatitis in many parts of the world, greatly improving global health,” the Nobel committee said in announcing the prize.
Alter, 85, who is Jewish, was born in New York and attended medical school at the University of Rochester. Early in his career he worked with Nobel Prize winning scientist Baruch Blumberg, who identified the hepatitis B virus.
In 2000, he received the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research for his work leading to the discovery of the virus that causes hepatitis C.
Houghton isolated the genetic sequence of the new hepatitis C virus while working at Chiron Corporation in the 1980s. Rice showed that hepatitis C virus alone could cause hepatitis.
Congratulations now solve corona
he is 85yo, he was 35 50 years ago when this work was published. Another sign of hiskatnus badoros among the scientific community.
amazing, though we constitute only 1/2% of the world population since the beginning of the awarding of Nobel prize over 20% of the awards have gone to Jews. But black lives matter? how many Nobel prizes have they won. Oh I forgot, there is no prize for rioting, looting, burning down businesses. Yet in spite of all our contributions to make this world a better place for all mankind we continue to be the target of vile, racist, antisemitism & yet we have not rioted or looted or torched any businesses, perhaps it is time for Jewish Lives Matter! in the words of the Gaon, HaRav, HaTzaddik Meir Kahane Z”TL “NEVER AGAIN” May HaShem bless President Trump a true Chaver Yisroel.