Scientist gets posthumous Nobel prize

A pioneering scientist who died just a few days ago has been confirmed as this year's Nobel Prize winner for medicine.

The award for Canada-born Ralph Steinman had been thrown into doubt because only living scientists are considered eligible. But the committee said their decision stood leading to the first posthumous Nobel prize in half a century.

Steinman and two others were recognised for their work on the immune system.

The Rockefeller University, Steinman's former employer, said he had been diagnosed with cancer four years ago, but had managed to extend his life using his own immuno-therapy.

Al Jazeera's Caroline Malone reports.

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News & Politics

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• ralph
• steinman
• nobel
• prize
• medicine
• immune
• system
• cancer
• al
• jazeera
• caroline
• malone

[gr8st1213]

RIP. These are the people that deserve our applaud and praise, not silly celebrities. I guess that's just the way it works.

[MsColdCanada]

@call2allah He had suffered with cancer for the last 4 years and you have the gall to disrespect his struggle against the disease by insinuating it was an assassination? That's harsh.

[gsplay]

Yawn...

[Xpl0dable]

@JavaOnBeens tha means nothing

muslims are same as jews

bunch of sand niggers BOTH

[sbergman27]

My, aren't the Scandinavians sadistic. You can be a budding scientist, doing brilliant work in your youth. Conduct a brilliant experiment, which gets even more brilliant results. Decades pass in which you wait, patiently for your Nobel. But shortly after your retirement you get lymphoma or something, and your widow gets a "no dice" letter from Norway. I can certainly see how maybe Newton missed his chance. But the "living scientists only" rule seems quite silly (and mean).

[Springsinger1]

Research into cocaine and it's amazing ability to interact with calcium and other trace minerals may one day save bone cancer victims. Indians who chew 'pasta' of coca, combined with crushed, fossilized sea shells, wrapped in the coca leaf, have shown incredible enamel growth on their teeth. The bones of the jaws grow thick with calcium. National Geographic once published an article on this fact. It can be used as a plaster to mend broken bones as well.

[Warsie]

This is odd I thought they don't give nobel prizes to dead people. Oh it waas a 'close call'

[call2allah]

@MsColdCanada i am a lover of good cause with good intention

but there many good causes with bad intentions

most of these diseases are man made from before

so now they are selling medicine to make money off that

alot of these diseases never existed before

and i agree with u that shouldnt stop them from striving for the cure

"for verily truth by its nature will over ride falsehood"

[MsColdCanada]

@call2allah Thanks for explaining that makes more sense. Of course I agree that there will be greedy people with much at stake who will try to block progress and gain wealth at the expense of others. It shouldn't stop those who have a passion for helping others and improving life from working hard at discoveries though. Not all the kind people get bumped off and progress does happen eventually no matter who opposes it. I applaud this guy for his work. RIP doc.

[GodOfUnbelief]

Even though he died, he still deserves the prize

[call2allah]

@MsColdCanada u misunderstood me

i respect the guy looking for the cure

if theres anything u should know is that when

there cure for diseases those ppl are targeted

cause corporations are at steak cause there

business will be at loss, they live of other ppls problems

watch documentaries of pple who get killed by

big corporations or government because the do

something that is disliked by them or against them

the ppl on the planet now are not those not to help but strangled by greed for more