FIVE Americans _ the three Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology   or Medicine last week. It was the first American sweep of the Nobel science prizes since 1983. It's rare for Americans not to receive any of the science prizes, especially in recent years. In 2004, seven Americans were among the 10 laureates   for the science prizes. Last year, the figure was five out of 10. The huge sums of money invested in scientific research is one factor that has helped many Americans to win awards. Another reason is the vast number of researchers working in the US. American universities also often have a more "creative university environment"where people can focus on research for a long period without any pressure, said Anders Liljas, member of the Nobel Committee. New hope for AIDS patients? AMERICAN scientists Craig Mello (top) of the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Andrew Fire (above) of Stanford University School of Medicine won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine last Monday. Their discovery is a process that researchers hope to use to silence disease-causing genes  . It offers new ways for disease treatment. Scientists now hope to develop a new technique that could be used to treat diseases, such as cancers, AIDS and Parkinson's disease. Like father, like son? AS the son of a Nobel Prize winning professor, Roger D. Kornberg (left) had a lot to live up to. But, nearly half a century after his father, won his award, Kornberg, 59, a Stanford University professor, won his own last Wednesday: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His research into how cells read their genes is very important. It could help lead to the development of new drugs to fight cancer  , heart disease and other illnesses, experts said. First light of the universe TWO Americans won the Nobel Prize in Physics last Tuesday for measuring the oldest light in the heavens. It is considered as "one of the greatest discoveries of the century". It convinced   scientists that the Big Bang theory   of the universe's origin is correct. George F. Smoot (top), 61, of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, and John C. Mather (above), 60, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre, will share the US$1.4 million prize for their work. Beginning in 1989, they measured weak light that originated   as early as 380,000 years after the Big Bang. The passage is probably taken from  _  .
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