Swedish Scientist Wins Nobel Prize in Medicine for Research on Early Humans
2022-10-04
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1Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for his discoveries on human evolution.
2His work shows how our immune system works differently from our long-ago ancestors, the Nobel group said.
3Pääbo has led the development of new methods that permit researchers to compare the genes of modern humans, also known as Homo sapiens, and that of some human relatives, like the Neanderthals and Denisovans.
4Scientists first found Neanderthal bones in the mid-19th century.
5But looking at their genetic code, or DNA, helps them fully understand the links between species.
6Pääbo studies the time when modern humans and Neanderthals went separate ways as a species.
7That was around 800,000 years ago.
8Anna Wedell is chair of the Nobel Committee.
9She said, "Pääbo and his team also surprisingly found that gene flow had occurred from Neanderthals to Homo sapiens, demonstrating that they had children together during periods of co-existence."
10This movement of genes between ancient human species affects how the immune system of modern humans reacts to infections, such as the coronavirus.
11People outside Africa have 1-2 percent of Neanderthal genes.
12Pääbo and his team also recovered some DNA from a tiny finger bone found in a cave in Siberia.
13This led to the recognition of a new species of ancient humans they called Denisovans.
14Wedell described this as "a sensational discovery."
15With that information, researchers showed Neanderthals and Denisovans to be related groups.
16They split from each other around 600,000 years ago.
17Denisovan genes have been found in up to 6 percent of modern humans in Asia and Southeast Asia.
18"By mixing with them after migrating out of Africa, Homo sapiens picked up sequences that improved their chances to survive in their new environments," said Wedell.
19For example, Tibetans share a gene with Denisovans that helps them live in high mountain areas.
20Nils-Göran Larsson is a Nobel Assembly member.
21He told the Associated Press, "Svante Pääbo has discovered the genetic makeup of our closest relatives. And the small differences between these extinct human forms and us as humans today will provide important insight into our body functions and how our brain has developed and so forth."
22Pääbo was surprised to learn of his win on Monday.
23He thought something had been broken in his summer house when he got the call from the Nobel committee.
24Pääbo, 67, did his work at the University of Munich and at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.
25Pääbo is the son of Sune Bergstrom, who won the Nobel prize in medicine in 1982.
26The Nobel Foundation says this is the eighth time that the son or daughter of a Nobel prizewinner also won a Nobel Prize.
27David Reich is a geneticist at Harvard Medical School.
28He said by recognizing that DNA can be preserved for tens of thousands of years - and developing ways to recover it - Pääbo and his team created a completely new way to answer questions about our past.
29Their work, he added, led to "explosive growth" of ancient DNA studies.
30Katerina Harvati-Papatheodorou is a professor of paleoanthropology at the University of Tübingen in Germany.
31She said the award draws attention to the importance of understanding human evolution to gain insights about human health, such as COVID infections, today.
32The medicine prize begins a week of Nobel Prize announcements.
33The prizes carry a cash award of nearly $900,000.
34I'm Jill Robbins.
1Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for his discoveries on human evolution. His work shows how our immune system works differently from our long-ago ancestors, the Nobel group said. 2New methods 3Pääbo has led the development of new methods that permit researchers to compare the genes of modern humans, also known as Homo sapiens, and that of some human relatives, like the Neanderthals and Denisovans. 4Scientists first found Neanderthal bones in the mid-19th century. But looking at their genetic code, or DNA, helps them fully understand the links between species. Pääbo studies the time when modern humans and Neanderthals went separate ways as a species. That was around 800,000 years ago. 5Anna Wedell is chair of the Nobel Committee. She said, "Pääbo and his team also surprisingly found that gene flow had occurred from Neanderthals to Homo sapiens, demonstrating that they had children together during periods of co-existence." 6This movement of genes between ancient human species affects how the immune system of modern humans reacts to infections, such as the coronavirus. People outside Africa have 1-2 percent of Neanderthal genes. 7Discovery of a new human species 8Pääbo and his team also recovered some DNA from a tiny finger bone found in a cave in Siberia. This led to the recognition of a new species of ancient humans they called Denisovans. 9Wedell described this as "a sensational discovery." With that information, researchers showed Neanderthals and Denisovans to be related groups. They split from each other around 600,000 years ago. Denisovan genes have been found in up to 6 percent of modern humans in Asia and Southeast Asia. 10"By mixing with them after migrating out of Africa, Homo sapiens picked up sequences that improved their chances to survive in their new environments," said Wedell. For example, Tibetans share a gene with Denisovans that helps them live in high mountain areas. 11Nils-Göran Larsson is a Nobel Assembly member. He told the Associated Press, "Svante Pääbo has discovered the genetic makeup of our closest relatives. And the small differences between these extinct human forms and us as humans today will provide important insight into our body functions and how our brain has developed and so forth." 12Pääbo was surprised to learn of his win on Monday. He thought something had been broken in his summer house when he got the call from the Nobel committee. 13Father and son both Nobel winners 14Pääbo, 67, did his work at the University of Munich and at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. Pääbo is the son of Sune Bergstrom, who won the Nobel prize in medicine in 1982. The Nobel Foundation says this is the eighth time that the son or daughter of a Nobel prizewinner also won a Nobel Prize. 15David Reich is a geneticist at Harvard Medical School. He said by recognizing that DNA can be preserved for tens of thousands of years - and developing ways to recover it - Pääbo and his team created a completely new way to answer questions about our past. Their work, he added, led to "explosive growth" of ancient DNA studies. 16Katerina Harvati-Papatheodorou is a professor of paleoanthropology at the University of Tübingen in Germany. She said the award draws attention to the importance of understanding human evolution to gain insights about human health, such as COVID infections, today. 17The medicine prize begins a week of Nobel Prize announcements. The prizes carry a cash award of nearly $900,000. 18I'm Jill Robbins. 19David Keyton, Frank Jordans and Laura Ungar reported on this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. 20________________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22evolution - n. a process of gradual change that takes place over many generations, during which species of animals, plants, or insects slowly change some of their physical characteristics 23species - n. class of plants or animals whose members have the same main characteristics and are able to breed with each other. 24occur - v. to happen 25sensational adj. so remarkable that it causes great excitement and interest. 26sequence - n. a DNA sequence is the order in which the elements making up a particular gene are combined 27insight - n. knowledge and understanding 28________________________________________________________________________ 29What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 30Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them.