The World Economic Forum | World Economic Forum-The World Economic Forum. Others' curation about education. World Future Society | Tomorrow is built today. Nobelprize.org. Physiology or Medicine 1978 - Press Release. Press Release October 1978 The Nobel Assembly of Karolinska Institutet has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 1978 jointly to Werner Arber, Dan Nathans and Hamilton Smith for the discovery of "restriction enzymes and their application to problems of molecular genetics".
Summary Restriction enzymes provide the "chemical knives" to cut genes (= DNA) into defined fragments. Arber discovered restriction enzymes. Smith verified Arber's hypothesis with a purified bacterial restriction enzyme and showed that this enzyme cuts DNA in the middle of a specific symmetrical sequence. Nathans pioneered the application of restriction enzymes to genetics. This year's Nobel Prize in medicine or physiology is awarded for discoveries with far reaching consequences for genetics.
Restriction enzymes are used as tools to dissect DNA into smaller defined fragments. Werner Arber started this field of research in Geneva during the 1960's. Hamilton Smith verified Arber's hypothesis. The Sense of Smell Institute.