Irish biochemist wins the Nobel prize for medicine

steddyeddy

William Cecil Campbell, a Donegal man has one the Nobel prize for his work on the anti-parasite drug Avermectin. This drug activates the chloride channel of certain parasitic species resulting in paralysis. This drug has lowered the incidence of river blindness by tens if not hundred of thousands and I'm proud to say an Irish man accomplished something like this.

Edit: the drug was thought to have save the life of millions.

Link from the Guardian here.

Three scientists from Ireland, Japan and China have won the Nobel prize in medicine for discoveries that helped doctors fight malaria and infections caused by roundworm parasites.
Tu Youyou discovered one of the most effective treatments for malaria while working on a secret military project during China’s Cultural Revolution.
The 84-year-old pharmacologist was awarded half of the prestigious 8m Swedish kronor (£631,000) prize for her discovery of artemisinin, a drug that proved to be an improvement on chloroquine, which had become far less effective as the malaria parasites developed resistance.

jungleman

when he manages to find a cure for swamp arse (tough day today), then he'll have my respect.

Fox_In_Socks

Fair play to the boy! as Danny Dyer might shout

darkpagandeath

Great news For treatment of terrible afflictions.

fleet_admiral

Have the brits claimed him yet?

Taco Chips

Pretty sure his primary qualification was zoology and not biochem eddy

Amazing achievement of course and a big gee up for TCD to have another Nobel winner. Its pity the Irish media isn't making more of a hullaballoo over this. There seems to be a much bigger deal made of literary figures in this country versus the many immense and ground breaking scientists at work. How many kids are familiar with Yeats, Heaney and Friel but have never heard of the works of Walton, Boyle or Hamilton?

steddyeddy

Taco Chips wrote: »

Pretty sure his primary qualification was zoology and not biochem eddy

Amazing achievement of course and a big gee up for TCD to have another Nobel winner. Its pity the Irish media isn't making more of a hullaballoo over this. There seems to be a much bigger deal made of literary figures in this country versus the many immense and ground breaking scientists at work. How many kids are familiar with Yeats, Heaney and Friel but have never heard of the works of Walton, Boyle or Hamilton?

That's true Taco but like many people he did a PhD and follow up research on biochemistry. The work he one the Nobel prize for was certainly biochemical in nature.

Taco Chips

steddyeddy wrote: »

That's true Taco but like many people he did a PhD and follow up research on biochemistry. The work he one the Nobel prize for was certainly biochemical in nature.

:pac: Wouldn't parasitologist be a more accurate term in this context?

steddyeddy

Taco Chips wrote: »

:pac: Wouldn't parasitologist be a more accurate term in this context?

Well his drug affects parasites Taco but his work was on the glutamate gated chloride channels. Very biochemical in nature. He's described as a biochemist parasitologist.

All this and science funding gets cut and cut.

Mr. Incognito

This was announced days ago?

looksee

fleet_admiral wrote: »

Have the brits claimed him yet?

No, but the Americans could have - he has lived there for around 60 years.

steddyeddy

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

This was announced days ago?

So? Do you realise the importance of this? This is only the second Irish person to win the prize. The previous honor going to atom slitter Ernest Walton.

CrabRevolution

Wouldn't say there's no deal being made of it. I've seen it mentioned on many news outlets, including places you wouldn't exactly associate with Science like joe.ie.

steddyeddy

CrabRevolution wrote: »

Wouldn't say there's no deal being made of it. I've seen it mentioned on many news outlets, including places you wouldn't exactly associate with Science like joe.ie.

Ah well how many people care though? This is only our second science Nobel laureate.

looksee

steddyeddy wrote: »

Ah well how many people care though? This is only our second science Nobel laureate.

'Our'? What is this 'our'. 'We' did not contribute to his research or provide him funding. He was born and educated here - and no doubt paid his fees for Trinity - but then had to go to the US to take his work further. Work that he put in the long hours for, nothing to do with 'us'.

steddyeddy

looksee wrote: »

'Our'? What is this 'our'. 'We' did not contribute to his research or provide him funding. He was born and educated here - and no doubt paid his fees for Trinity - but then had to go to the US to take his work further. Work that he put in the long hours for, nothing to do with 'us'.

Well I'm proud that our nation is producing Nobel laureates. I'm not actually claiming a part in his work?

kupus

steddyeddy wrote: »

So? Do you realise the importance of this? This is only the second Irish person to win the prize. The previous honor going to atom slitter Ernest Walton.

thanks for bursting my bubble... I was fully expecting his name to be john boy :mad:

steddyeddy

kupus wrote: »

thanks for bursting my bubble... I was fully expecting his name to be john boy :mad:

Night John boy

Samaris

As a minor note regarding celebrating "our" literary greats more than "our" scientists, there's a point to be made that one's creative impulses are probably much more controlled and shaped by their culture and upbringing. Irish literature, art and even music are far more attributable, even in part, to where the artist was brought up, the culture that surrounded them, and their life experiences.

Irish science is just science. The information is there, the cultural background is far less relevant to working it out, beyond encouragement and money going into the sciences.

RobertKK

The product used to cure river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, is the same drug farmers have used for decades against parasites in cattle.
http://www.farmersjournal.ie/irish-discoverer-of-ivermectin-jointly-wins-noble-prize-for-medicine-191087/