The Nobel Prize winners for 2002 are being announced this week. Today, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Sydney Brenner and John E. Sulston of the UK and H. Robert Horvitz of the USA for their discoveries concerning genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death. From the press release, “The Laureates have identified key genes regulating organ development and programmed cell death and have shown that corresponding genes exist in higher species, including man. The discoveries are important for medical research and have shed new light on the pathogenesis of many diseases.”

The Nobel Prize in Physics will be awarded tomorrow.