New York Times: Three US-based researchers have been chosen to receive this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their work on the membrane-wrapped packages, known as vesicles, that transport molecules inside and outside cells. James Rothman of Yale University is being honored for discovering the proteins that enable vesicles to dock and fuse with their intended targets. Randy Schekman of the University of California, Berkeley, identified which genes control the cell´s tightly regulated transport system. Thomas Südhof of Stanford University worked out how the vesicles that mediate nerve transmission know when to spring into action. Rothman and Schekman are both US citizens. Südhof is a citizen of Germany.
The finding that the Saturnian moon may host layers of icy slush instead of a global ocean could change how planetary scientists think about other icy moons as well.
Modeling the shapes of tree branches, neurons, and blood vessels is a thorny problem, but researchers have just discovered that much of the math has already been done.
January 29, 2026 12:52 PM
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