Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to U.S. citizens Mario R. Capecchi and Oliver Smithies and Sir Martin J. Evans of Britain for their work on gene targeting.

They were honored for a technique called gene targeting, which lets scientists inactivate or modify particular genes in mice. That in turn lets them study how those genes affect health and disease.

To use this technique, researchers introduce a genetic change into mouse embryonic stem cells. These cells are then injected into mouse embryos. The mice born from these embryos are bred with others to produce offspring with altered genes.

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