Discovery of cell apoptosis regulation genes: Sydney Brenner, John E. Sulston and H. Robert Horvitz (The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2002)

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2002 was awarded to Sydney Brenner, Howard Robert Horvitz and John Edward Sulston for their discoveries concerning “genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death”. The scientists­ studied cell division and differentiation in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans from the fertilized egg to the adult organism. As a result of their studies, key genes regulating organ development and programmed cell death (apoptosis) were identified, and corresponding genes were shown to exist in higher species, including humans. These discoveries shed light on the pathogenesis of many diseases and were important for further medical research.