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Richard Axel e Linda B. Buck, ganhadores do Prêmio Nobel de Medicina de 2004
American researchers Richard Axel and Linda B. Buck were the winners of the Nobel Prize of Medicine in 2004 for their discoveries of odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system in human beings.
The scientists were awarded because in their research centers in the US they discovered a large gene family, comprised of some 1,000 different genes 3% of our genes that give rise to an equivalent number of olfactory receptor types.
Such receptors are located on the olfactory receptor cells, which occupy a small area in the upper part of the nasal epithelium and detect the inhaled odorant molecules. The Karolinska Institute, responsible for the award, explained the decision for Richard Axel and Linda Buck because they solved important mysteries about smell. Researches on that field present a worldwide delay in relation to studies on other senses.
Their discovery reassures how important the olfactory system is in man's life quality and in the sense of taste. According to Karolinska's spokesman "a good wine or a sun ripe wild strawberry helps us detect qualities we consider positive. A unique odor can trigger old memories".
The principles Axel and Buck unveiled about the olfactory system may apply to other senses. Pheromones, important in social and sexual behavior of animals, are molecules also detected by receptors located in the nasal epithelium.
The prizewinners published their findings jointly in 1999 and since then have worked separately in their research centers.
Linda Buck, 57, is an investigator at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, in Seattle, Washington. Richard Axel, 58, works at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Columbia, New York.
Publication Dates
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Publication in this collection
14 Feb 2005 -
Date of issue
Dec 2004
