According to the October 8, 2007 press release from the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2007 goes one-third, each, to Mario R. Capecchi, Sir Martin J. Evans, and Oliver Smithies. The press release begins by stating, “This year's Nobel Laureates have made a series of ground-breaking discoveries concerning embryonic stem cells and DNA recombination in mammals. Their discoveries led to the creation of an immensely powerful technology referred to as gene targeting in mice. It is now being applied to virtually all areas of biomedicine – from basic research to the development of new therapies.”

The process known as gene targeting is a novel way to develop models based on mice for human disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, cancers, and diabetes. Gene targeting inactivates single genes through experimentation, what is now commonly called knockout experiments. As of the Nobel Prize announcement, over ten thousand (about half of the genes in the mammalian genome) have been inactivated, or “knocked out.”

The knocking out process allows scientists to produce modifications of DNA in the mouse genome, which helps to identify the role of individual genes in various diseases. The research of Capecchi found the roles of genes in organ development, especially concerning deformations of organs at birth. Evans produced gene targeting models with respect to such diseases as cystic fibrosis and other inherited diseases. Smithies developed similar models for hypertension, atherosclerosis, and other commonly found diseases.

Mario R. Capecchi (1937--) is an Italian American professor of biology and human genetics at the University of Utah’s School of Medicine (Salt Lake City, Utah) and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (Chevy Chase, Maryland).

Sir Martin J. Evans (1941--) is a British professor of mammalian genetics from Cardiff University (Cardiff, United Kingdom).

Oliver Smithies (1925--) is a British American professor at the department of pathology and laboratory medicine, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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