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Medicine Award Kicks off Nobel PrizeAnnouncements
Two scientists who have wonpraise for research into the growth of cancer cells could be candi-dates forthe Nobel Prize in medicine when the 2008 winners are presented on Monday,kicking off six days Nobel announcements.
Australian-born U. S. citizenElizabeth Blackburn and American Carol Greider have already won a series ofmedical honors for their enzyme research and experts say they could be amongthe front-run-ners for Nobel.
Only seven women have wonthe medicine prize since the first Nobel Prizes were handed out in 1901. Thelast female winner wasU. S.researcher Linda Buck in 2004, who shared the prize with Richard Axel.
Among the pair's possiblerivals are Frenchman Pierre Chambon and Americans Ronald Evans and ElwoodJensen, who opened up the field of studying proteins called nuclear hormonereceptors.
As usual, the awardcommittee is giving no hints about who is in the running before presenting itsdecision in a news conference at Stockholm'sKarolinska InstitutE.
Alfred Nobel, the Swede who invented dynamite,established the prizes in his will in the catego- ries of medicine, physics,chemistry, literature and peacE.The economics prize is technically not a No-bel but a 1968 creation ofSweden'scentral bank.
Nobel left few instructions on how to selectwinners, but medicine winners are typically awarded for a specific breakthroughrather than a body of research.
Hans Jornvall, secretary ofthe medicine prize committee, said the lo million kronor (US $ 1. 3 million)prize encourages groundbreaking research but he did not think winning it wasthe primary goal for scientists.
"Individual researchersprobably don't look at themselves as potential Nobel Prize winners when they're at work," Jornvall told The Associated Press. "They get theirkicks from their research and their interest in how life functions. "
In 2006, Blackburn, of the University of California,San Francisco, and Greider, of Johns Hop- kins Universityin Baltimore, shared the Lasker prize for basicmedical research with Jack Szostak of Harvard Medical School. Their work setthe stage for research suggesting that cancer cells use telom- erase to sustaintheir uncontrolled growth.
Who is Not a likely candidate for this year's Nobel Prize in medicine?
A.Elizabeth Blackburn
B.Carol Greider
C.Linda Buck
D.Pierre Chambon