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Researcher From Columbia University in New York Wins Nobel Prize

Posted on: Tuesday, 5 October 2004, 06:00 CDT

Researcher from Columbia University in New York wins Nobel Prize

NEW YORK, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- A Columbia University professor on Monday was awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.

Richard Axel, 58, and fellow researcher Linda Buck received the award for their studies on the sense of smell. The Nobel Committee said their work helped man better understand "one of humanity's most profound senses," particularly how human can recall smell as memories.

Axel is professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics and of pathology at Columbia University, and he specializes in how sensory information is received, filtered and understood by the brain.

Buck, a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, has specialized in how mammals detect and differentiate odors and pheromones and how the brain translates and perceives them. She currently works at the University of Washington in Seattle. Both are investigators with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The two shared the 1.3-million-dollar prize.

Their genetic work revealed a family of proteins in the nose that recognizes odors, and they illuminated how the information is transmitted to the brain, letting it perceive and remember smells, the Nobel Assembly said.

The two scientists clarified the intricate biological pathway from the nose to the brain that lets people recognize smells. A whiff of an odor brings a mix of different molecules into the nose, where each molecule activates several odor receptors. This pattern of activation is interpreted by the brain, letting people identify and form memories of about 10,000 different odors, the Assembly added.

In a statement issued Monday, Lee, Bollinger, President of Columbia University said the university is honored that one of its faculty members, Richard Axel, has received the Nobel Prize for " his pioneering studies clarifying how our senses of smell works."

"Richard's groundbreaking research solves the puzzle of how we translate the sensations around us into knowledge that is key for our survival and quality of life," the statement said.

He noted that Axel has been at Columbia University Medical Center his entire professional career and was an undergraduate at Columbia College, and Linda Buck did her postdoctoral studies with Richard at Columbia University. "We extend our congratulates to both of them. Axel and Buck join a group of 72 notable Columbians whose work has been recognized by the Nobel foundation, including 21 in the category of physiology or medicine," the statement said.

According to the University's website, more than 70 persons who have taught, conducted research or studies at Columbia University have won the Nobel Prize since it was first awarded in 1901.

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