Events Calendar
In This Section
Ex-astronaut pleads guilty in attack on rival
Bill Clinton urges Senate Dems to pass health care
Autopsies complete on Fort Hood victims
Feds bust ATM hacking ring accused of stealing $9 million
Woman would like to buy back long-lost VW van
Mother tried to shield baby in fatal shootings
Ex-Miss California admits to making sex tape
Review: Police did not cause Celtic fan's death
Marine reservist accused of attacking Greek priest he mistook for terrorist
Most Read Stories
Suitcase causes bomb scare at Akron bus terminal
Akron City Council OKs higher speed on I-77
Chapel Hill isn't rolling right along
Motorcyclist killed, wife injured in Stark County crash
New eateries expand menu of options
Man says he was punched, robbed by 3 people in parking lot
Patrick McManamon: Here's what the Browns should try the rest of the season
Louisville athlete commits to play for Boston College
Family found dead in Ohio home
Blogs:
Pets:
It Takes All Kinds
The Heldenfiles:
Tuesday Notebook
Patrick McManamon:
An interesting thought from a reader
Akron Zips:
Akron vs. Mount Union — Liveblog
Tribe Matters:
Indians announce spring dates
Cleveland Browns:
Mangini doesn't name a quarterback
Kent State Sports:
Flashes interested in another Cincinnati player
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Shaq: It’s All About Winning Championships
Buckeye Blogging:
Buckeyes Roll 100-60 / Season Outlook
Varsity Letters:
Report: Walsh baseball player commits
All Da King's Men:
More On The Fort Hood Jihadist
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Simply Incapable of Telling The Truth
Akron Law Café:
Health Care Financing Reform: (63) Commonwealth Fund Report on Primary Care
See Jane Style:
Muffle Your Muffler
Car Chase:
Clock Tender- Extending the Life of Collector Car Clocks
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Rumors: Akron Starbucks Closing
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Jack is looking for a trip to Southern Ohio the week of November 16.
Sound Check:
Aeromsith looking for new singer as Steven Tyler contemplates solo career
HRLite House:
Personal Rant – Why People Do Not Live in Northeast Ohio
Akron Gamer:
Video: 'Modern Warfare 2' hits the streets
Statin, gene, microbe research has impact
Published on Sunday, Sep 14, 2008
Associated Press
NEW YORK: A Japanese scientist whose breakthrough research led to the most popular cholesterol drugs and four other scientists who made pioneering discoveries have won prestigious medical prizes.
The $300,000 Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards will be presented Sept. 26 in New York by the Albert & Mary Lasker Foundation.
Akira Endo, 74, of Biopharm Research Laboratories Inc. of Tokyo won the clinical research award for discovering the first of the statins, the cholesterol-controlling drugs that are now among the most widely used medications in the world.
Endo's work inspired others, and in 1987 a similar drug (called lovastatin or Mevacor) was the first statin to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
''Endo ushered in a new era in preventing and treating (coronary heart disease),'' the Lasker Foundation said. ''His work has touched millions of people.''
The Lasker prize for basic medical research is shared by three scientists: Victor Ambros, 54, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester; David Baulcombe, 56, of the University of Cambridge in England, and Gary Ruvkun, 56, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School.
They discovered that molecules called microRNAs can control the activity of genes in plants and animals. People appear to have between 500 and 1,000 kinds of microRNAs that altogether might control one-third of the human genes, the foundation said. They play roles in embryonic development and muscle function as well as cancer, heart disease and viral infections, the foundation said.
The prize for special achievement in medical science was given to Stanley Falkow, 74, of the Stanford University School of Medicine. He was cited for ''a 51-year career as one of the great microbe hunters of all time.''
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
