The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2011 Nobel Press
Release The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet has today
decided that The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2011
shall be divided, with one half jointly to Bruce A. Beutler and
Jules A. Hoffmann for their discoveries concerning the
activation of innate immunity and the other half to Ralph M.
Steinman for his discovery of the dendritic cell and its role in
adaptive immunity This year’s Nobel Laureates have
revolutionized our understanding of the immune system by
discovering key principles for its activation. Scientists have
long been searching for the gatekeepers of the immune response
by which man and other animals defend themselves against attack
by bacteria and other microorganisms. Bruce Beutler and Jules
Hoffmann discovered receptor proteins that can recognize such
microorganisms and activate innate immunity, the first step in
the body’s immune response. Ralph Steinman discovered the
dendritic cells of the immune system and their unique c