By pronald on October 2, 2011.
Two great scientists, Bruce Beutler and Jules Hoffman, who have changed the way we view the immune response of plants and animals, have been awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Tragically, Dr. Ralph M. Steinman of Rockefeller University, who discovered a new class of cell, known as dendritic cells, which are key activators of the adaptive immune system dies a few days ago. It is unclear if his family will be able to share the prize because Nobel Prizes are not awarded posthumously.
Hoffman s group showed that Drosophila Toll, originally known for its function in development, is also important for the response to fungal and Gram-positive bacterial infection. Read the 1996 Cell paper for which he received the Nobel Prize here.