And the Nobel goes to ...

(ALEX HOGAN/STAT)

This year’s Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology went to a trio of scientists who discovered how cells respond to changing levels of oxygen, uncovering pathways that have led to potential treatments for cancer and other diseases. The three laureates are: Dr. William Kaelin Jr. of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Sir Peter Ratcliffe of University of Oxford, and Dr. Gregg Semenza of Johns Hopkins University. Their research described the mechanisms that help cells adapt to the availability of oxygen — which is needed for cells to convert food into energy — and how they influence gene expression. Read more here.