Japanese scientists Shimon Sakaguchi and Susumu Kitagawa on Wednesday obtained Nobel prizes in Stockholm for his or her respective achievements in drugs and chemistry.
Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf introduced gold medals and diplomas to Sakaguchi, a 74-year-old distinguished professor at Osaka University, and Kitagawa, a 74-year-old distinguished professor at Kyoto University, at an award ceremony at Stockholm Concert Hall.
The two laureates obtained their awards to loud applause from an viewers of greater than 1,500 that included relations and fellow researchers.
It marks the primary time in 10 years that Japanese recipients have been awarded Nobel prizes in two totally different fields in the identical 12 months.
Sakaguchi, who obtained the Nobel Prize in physiology or drugs, was acknowledged for locating regulatory T cells, or Tregs, which forestall different T cells from attacking the physique’s personal wholesome cells and have paved the best way for brand new remedies for autoimmune ailments, most cancers and different diseases.
Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine Shimon Sakaguchi receives his award from King Carl Gustaf on the Nobel Prize ceremony on the Stockholm Concert Hall, Sweden, Wednesday. Image: Anders Wiklund/TT News Agency by way of AP
Kitagawa, in the meantime, obtained the Nobel Prize in chemistry for creating porous supplies referred to as metal-organic frameworks, able to storing and releasing gases reminiscent of methane and nitrogen.
“This is truly an honor, and I think it will be a special day in my life,” Sakaguchi advised reporters after the ceremony. “The medal is actually quite heavy.”
Each Nobel prize carries an award of 11 million kronor ($1.2 million). Both shared the prize with two different researchers of their respective fields.
Japan has now produced 31 Nobel laureates, together with Nihon Hidankyo, Japan’s main group of atomic bomb survivors, who gained the Nobel Peace Prize final 12 months.
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