And a Look Back at Past Recipients

Nobel Prize in Medicine

37-cent Barbara McClintock stamp
Barbara McClintock was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1983. This 37-cent stamp honoring McClintock was issued May 4, 2005.

The Nobel Committee has awarded three Americans the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak solved a major problem dealing with the copying and degradation of chromosomes. The committee said that ''The discoveries by Blackburn, Greider and Szostak have added a new dimension to our understanding of the cell, shed light on disease mechanisms, and stimulated the development of potential new therapies.”