Nobel prize is one of the most prestigious awards on the planet and the award announcement will start from today with the Physiology/Medicine prize. The prize has been jointly given to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo “for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.”

Laureate James P. Allison studied a protein that functions as a brake on the immune system. He realised the potential of releasing the brake and unleashing our immune cells to attack tumours. He developed this concept into a new approach for treating patients. 2018 Nobel Prize: Watch Live Streaming of Prestigious Award Season, Know All the Winners From Peace to Medicine Online.

Tasuku Honjo, awarded the 2018 NobelPrize, discovered a protein on immune cells and revealed that it also operates as a brake, but with a different mechanism of action. Therapies based on his discovery proved to be strikingly effective in the fight against cancer.

On October 2, the Nobel Prize for Physics will be declared. On October 3 and 5, Nobel Prize for Chemistry and Peace will be declared. Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences will be declared on October 8. The Swedish Academy has decided to postpone the 2018 Nobel Prize in literature. 2018 Nobel Prize Announcements Schedule: Prize in Literature to Be Awarded in 2019, Know the Reason Why?

The 232-year-old panel of writers and scholars has taken the extraordinary step of postponing this year’s award in Literature until next year, when it will name two winners. Jean-Claude Arnault, a French citizen who is a major cultural figure in Sweden, is at the centre of a sex abuse and financial crime scandal that has tarnished the academy and forced it to take a year off in its deliberations. The 72-year-old is now on trial in Stockholm, facing two counts of rape of a woman seven years ago. The verdict in his case is expected to come out today. Working on its decision, the academy highlighted that it would focus on rebuilding public trust and restoring its reputation by not declaring the Nobel Prize in Literature this year.

According to an AFP report, there has been another controversy this year over questions that why have so few women entered the pantheon, particularly sciences. Reportedly, ever since the first prizes were awarded in 1901, 892 individuals have received one, but just 48 of them have been women. Thirty of those women won either the literature or peace prize, highlighting the wide gender gap in the laureates for physics, chemistry and physiology/medicine. Critics have highlighted that gender bias pervades the process of nominations and this is one of the major reason for the disparity.

(With additional inputs from PTI)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 01, 2018 03:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).