A scientist who has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine has died

Three people were awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2011, according to the Nobel Committee's announcement on October 3. But only hours after being awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine, Rockefeller University, where Canadian scientist Ralph Steinman worked, announced that he had died three days.

Mr. Steinman died on September 30 because of pancreatic cancer.

The medical award will begin a week of Nobel prizes awarded in the fields of physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics. Nobel medicine, worth 10 million Swedish kronor ($ 1.5 million), last year went to Robert G. Edwards, the "father" of in vitro fertilization. , Edwards' work helped produce 4 million children.

Since 1901, the committee has awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine 101 times, the youngest person to receive the award is Frederick G. Banting in 1923, at the age of 32. The oldest is Peyton Rous, receiving the award in 1966 when 87 years old.

From the left is the image of scientists Beutler, Hoffmann and Steinman during the announcement ceremony of the awards on October 3 in Stockholm, Sweden - (Photo: Getty Images)

Tomorrow, the committee will declare awards in the field of physics, followed by chemistry. Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on Friday. On October 10, the Nobel Prize in economics will be announced.

According to the Associated Press , the Nobel Committee is unaware of Mr. Steinman's death and does not know if the award is reviewed because the Nobel statue is not usually given to deceased scientists.

Mr. Steinman, 68, shared the award with American character Bruce Beutler and French scientist Jules Hoffmann. Accordingly, half of the awards were given to Bruce A. Beutler and Jules A. Hoffmann 'for findings related to the activation of innate immunity' , the other half was given to Ralph M. Steinman 'for distribution. currently related to tree-shaped cells and its application role in immunology '.

'Their work has opened new avenues in the development of measures to prevent and treat infectious diseases, cancer and inflammatory diseases , ' the statement said.

The discovery of these three scientists has made a lot of progress in improving vaccines against infectious diseases. In the long term, their findings could be used in the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, arteriosclerosis and inflammation.

Nobel Committee member Goran Hansson said the committee did not know Mr. Steinman had died when he chose to award him and was reviewing the rules of the tournament.

'This is a truly sad news , ' Hansson said . 'We are very sad because he has no chance to know that he was awarded the Nobel Prize. We would like to share with the deceased family '.

How much is the Nobel Prize worth?

Not only do the winners of the $ 1.5 million prize pool, studies show that the prestigious Nobel prize also offers huge benefits for companies and organizations they collaborate with, or even help them live longer. two years.

According to expert Paula Stephan of Georgia State University (USA), a study published in the Research Policy magazine said there is nothing to attract investment by owning a Nobel laureate. For example, a biotech company can raise more than $ 24 million thanks to its award. Universities with Nobel laureates also easily attract a record student population.

Another study also showed that scientists who won Nobel prizes in physics or chemistry lived longer than the average of 1-2 years compared to those who did not win prizes.'Not money helps them live longer but is the value of prestige, the way it has changed people's thinking' - explained Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick (UK).

Awarded to the dead?

However, the Nobel committee review is extremely confused after receiving the announcement that scientist Ralph Steinman died three days before the Nobel Prize for medicine was announced.AP quoted Rockefeller University as saying Mr. Steinman died on Sept. 30 because of pancreatic cancer while being treated by immunotherapy based on his own research results of tassel cells. This method helped prolong Mr. Steinman's life four years after he was diagnosed with cancer.

This is a very rare case and for the first time an examination committee does not know anything about the death of the person awarded. Reuters quoted a council official as saying Mr. Steinman died only hours before the council decided. The Nobel Prize rule is not given to the deceased, unless the person is awarded after the award announcement. The Nobel Council has decided not to choose a replacement. The awards ceremony will take place on December 10.