Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Sancar’s ‘Circadian Clock’

2015 Nobel Prizes were awarded. Nobel Committee in Sweden announced that this year’s prize was awarded to Aziz Sancar who is living in USA, Tomas Lindahl from Britain, and Paul Modrich from USA. Committee deemed these names worthy of prize for their studies on DNA.

Sancar gained worldwide recognition after discovering ‘Circadian Clock’ in cancer treatment. Born in 1946 in Mardin, Sancar states that there are distinct mutations in each type of cancer and although some cells can be killed in the tissue, it is difficult to control other mutations. Professor Sancar is the second person of Turkish origin after Orhan Pamuk to receive a Nobel.

On the other hand Swedish Academy announced that 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Svetlana Alexandrovna Aleksievich from Belarus. Researcher, journalist and writer Aleksievich was a favorite. Academy Director Sara Danius said “Aleksievich’s works are monuments of oppression and courage in today’s world.”