The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicin 2008 – Professor Harald zur Hausen (english)
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Englisches Referat über Professor Harald zur Hausen und seinen Nobelpreis für die Entdeckung des menschlichen Papilloma Virus
Outline
What is the Nobel Prize?
- Who institudes the Nobel Prize?
- Which kinds of Nobel Prize exist?
- For what do you get a Nobel Prize?
- Who selects the Winners?
- What included the Prize?
Professor Harald zur Hausen
- His Life
- His Discovery – What is the human papilloma virus?
Who gets the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicin 2008?
- ½ Harald zur Hause
- ¼ Francoise Barré-Sinoussi
- ¼ Luc Montagnier
Conclusion
Sources
1. What is the Nobel Prize?
The Nobel Prize was founded by the Swedish chemist and industrialist, Alfred Nobel. He was the inventor of the dynamite. He instituted in his final will that his executors should found a foundation with 94% of his total assets (it was 31 million Swedish Kronor). They should invest them in safe securities. The interests which this money bears every year should be used as prize money for people who have done the most outstanding contributions for humanity during the preceding years. The interests become used as prize money and distributed between 5 fields. These being Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace.>
The Nobel Foundation was founded on the 29th of June 1900 (four years after Alfred Nobel's death).
The first Nobel Prize was awarded in year 1901 on Nobel's fiveth anniversary of death, the 10th of December. This was continued until today.
Nowadays the Nobel Prize is the most prestigious award which someone can receive in those five fields.
The Nobel prize for Peace will award in Oslo (Norway) and the other four will presented from the King of Sweden in Stockholm.
The Nobel Prize includes a personal diploma, a cash award and a medal which shows the image of Alfred Nobel and the years of his birth and death (1833-1896). Today they are made from 18 carat green cold plates with 24 carat gold. (weigh 200g, a diameter of 66mm).
The Nobel Prize nomination and selection is long and rigorous. I will not explain these prozesses detailedly because it would be too long for my presentation.
In general you can say that several thousand people from universities or institutes nominate people in each field. A commitee of mostly five experts in each field discuss until only the winners remain. Alfred Nobel determined in his final will which associations should select the five members of the commitees.
The Sweden's central bank has etablished an associated Prize for contributors to the field of economics. It is called “The Severiges Risksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel“.
Today you often say the Nobel Prize of Economic. He will award with the other Nobel Prizes with the same criterias and prizes. The cash prize will pay from the Sweden's central bank, not from the interests of the Nobel Foundation.
2. Professor Harald zur Hausen
His Life:
Harald zur Hausen is a German medical scientist. He is born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on 11th of March 1936. He is married to Ethel-Michele de Villiers who researched in the same field like her husband and he has three children.
I will not tell you all details of his life because it will be too long, just a short summary:
After he das finished his school, he studied medicine at the Universities Bonn, Hamburg and Düsseldorf, Germany. He received a Doctor of Medicin degree from the University of Düsseldorf in 1960.
Then he worked as:
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postdoc at the Institute of Microbiology in Düsseldorf
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Assistant Professor in the Virus Laboratories of Children's Hospital in Philadelphia
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an assistant professor at University of Pennsylvania
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regular teaching and researching professor at the Institute of Virology of University of Würzburg in 1969
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chairman and professor of Virology at University Erlangen-Nürnberg in 1972
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In 1972 he moved to a similar position to the University of Freiburg where he headed the department of Virology and Hygience
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From 1983 until 2003 he was appointed as Scientific Director (chairman and member) of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum) in Heidelberg.
He is also editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Cancer and author of the book „Infections Causing Human Cancer“ from 2006.
He has also a lot of honorary and elected memberships and he held seven Honorary degrees. Besides this he got a lot of awards for his research.
His Discovery:
Harald zur Hausen researched the development of cancel because of virus infections. He discovered that viruses can transform healthy cells into cancer cells which was a novel discovery. In 1976 he published his hypothesis that the human papilloma virus can cause cervical cancer. In 1983-84 he identified together with his collaborates the HP-Virus Type 16 and 18 in cervical cancer and showed their role in causing cervical cancer.
Besides this he discovered a large number of other novel virus types, also some which cause genital warts.
His pioneer researche of the human papilloma virus has permitted a development of the preverentive papilloma virus vaccine. The vaccine only has the potential to protect against cervical cancel. It protects the next generation of women, it can not reduce the risk of cancer in women who are already infected with the HPV types in the vaccine. On average more than 3 million women are currently infected in the whole world. There is great hope that soon a HPV-DNA test will be available that could be used to help the current generation of infected women to diagnose the infection with HPV early enough.
At the Moment there are two different vaccine available.
Gardasil which included 4 types of human papilloma virus. The type 16 and 18 that cause 70% of cervical cancer cases and types 6 and 11 that cause 90% of genital warts cases. This vaccine is available since 2006.
Cervarix which included just the important types 16 and 18 taht cause cervical cancer. This vaccine is not against genital warts. But in clinical trials there weren shown that it also protect aigains types 45 and 31. The vaccine is available since 2007.
The vaccine is for girls and young women in the age of 9 to 26. You get 3 injections over 6 months which make you immune against the papilloma viruses types which were injected. But only if you don't be infected before.
Of course, there are not only good voices about the HPV viccine. For example 2 women died after the injection because of an anaphylaxis.
But this rate of counter-examples you can find by every vaccine. The usefullness of HPV vaccine is considerably superior than the bad occurences. You just have the normal risks which you have by every vaccine. You can't not become infected with the HPV virus because they injected not the alive ones. You only get immunity.
If you are interested you can find more information about the HPV vaccine on the Internet. There are pro and con opinions. You should make your own opinion. But only a doctor can decide if this vaccine is a right choice for you: So take medical advice.
In my opinion it is an outstanding und lifesaving discovery. I think the vaccine is important and I did it for 2 years. I had not only good experiences because sometimes the injection can hurt. But for this usefullness that it protect against cancel it is not a sacrifice to sustain the pain during the vaccination. After the vaccination I had no more problems with this vaccine.
3. Who gets the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicin 2008?
This year the Nobel Prize become shared between three Virology scientists.
½ of the prize get the German scientist Harald zur Hausen “for his discovery of human papilloma virus causing cervical cancel“.
¼ of the Prize get the French scientist Francoise Barré-Sinoussi and the other ¼ of the Prize get the French scientist Luc Montagnier „for their discovery of human immodeficiency virus, short HIV“
For years it exists trouble which scientists has discovered the HI-Virus the first time because two French scientist teams discovered the virus in the same time. With the Nobel Prize the two scientists get adjudicated the discovery of the HI-Virus.
4. Conclusion
In all, I think the Nobel Prize is a fantastic award which indicate that all people in the world get a little insight into e.g novel medical discoveries because the Nobel Prize get so much famouse that all news report about it.
So we also get an insight into the life of the scientists who has mostly a remarkable CV. They are really impressive people. We should take pride that there are such people in the world.
5. Sources