Gene work wins Nobel

STOCKHOLM – Roger Kornberg of the United States won the 2006 Nobel Chemistry Prize yesterday for exploring a key process of life called gene transcription, taking further Nobel prize-winning work done by his own father.

Kornberg (59), a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, received the distinction “for his fundamental studies concerning how the information stored in the genes is copied, and then transferred to those parts of the cells that produce proteins”, the jury said. Kornberg senior was honoured for advancing understanding on how genetic information is transferred from a mother cell to its daughters.The 2006 prize is for ‘eukaryotic transcription’ – eukaryotes are a biological term for a vast category of organisms whose cells have a well-defined nucleus.Human beings come into this category.Disturbances in the transcription process are involved in many human illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and various kinds of inflammation.Nampa-AFPKornberg senior was honoured for advancing understanding on how genetic information is transferred from a mother cell to its daughters.The 2006 prize is for ‘eukaryotic transcription’ – eukaryotes are a biological term for a vast category of organisms whose cells have a well-defined nucleus.Human beings come into this category.Disturbances in the transcription process are involved in many human illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and various kinds of inflammation.Nampa-AFP