Congratulations to the three scientists awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work in discovering viruses behind two deadly illnesses: cervical cancer and AIDS. One of them has a Pennsylvania connection.
Harald zur Hausen, 72, a German virologist who studied for several years in the late 1960s at the University of Pennsylvania, was awarded the Nobel for his discovery of the human papilloma virus (HPV).
Zur Hausen spent the 1970s doing research that showed that the virus caused cervical cancer. At the time, most researchers believed that a herpes virus caused the cancer. But zur Hausen "went against the current dogma," the Nobel committee said.
Zur Hausen's discovery in 1983 led to the development of two vaccines that can protect against most forms of cervical cancer.
Cervical cancer is the second-most-common cancer among women. An estimated 250,000 women die of cervical cancer each year, mostly in poor countries.
The vaccine has stirred controversy, as some health professionals have urged that all young girls get the vaccine before becoming sexually active. Doctors don't know how long the vaccine is effective.
Zur Hausen shares the Nobel and the $1.4 million in prize money with two French virologists, Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, 61, and Luc A. Montagnier, 76, who discovered HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
About 25 million people have died from AIDS since its discovery in 1981, and 33 million more are living with HIV. Montagnier said after winning the award: "The fight is not finished."
But both discoveries have helped combat two devastating diseases.