Japanese researcher Yoshinori Ohsumi won the Nobel prize Monday for his pioneering work in cell recycling in diseases like Parkinson’s and diabetes. He studied the process of autophagy- the process of self eating.
Autophagy is a fundamental process in cell physiology and is required for the recycling of damaged cell parts. It helps in the understanding of the cells on overall health and diseases like cancer and diabetes. The hindrances in cell regular process may disturb the normal cycle of ageing thus inducing the diseases.
During his study, Yoshinori Ohsumi also observed that the mutation in autophagy genes are the causative agent for diseases like cancer. In 1990s, Yoshinori Ohsumi conducted research on baker’s yeast and found the genes responsible for autophagy.
He then researches for the similar genes in human body and concluded that similar mechanism work in this case also.Yoshinori Ohsumi, professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, also explained the process of physiology of cell starvation.
He is the 23rd Japanese national to win a Nobel prize, and the sixth Japanese medicine laureate.
Image Source : Getty
Read More : Health News