The Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to three scientists for discovery of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen.

William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg L. Semenza have been jointly awarded the Nobel for their work of identifying molecular machinery that regulates the activity of genes in response to varying levels of oxygen.

The fundamental importance of oxygen has been understood for centuries, but how cells adapt to changes in oxygen levels has long been unknown. This year’s Nobel Prize awarded work reveals the molecular mechanisms that underlie how cells adapt to variations in oxygen supply, said a statement from the Nobel Assembly at Sweden's Karolinska Institute said on awarding the prize of 9 million Swedish crowns ($913,000).

The discoveries made by the three men “have fundamental importance for physiology and have paved the way for promising new strategies to fight anemia, cancer and many other diseases.”

It is the 110th prize in the category that has been awarded since 1901.

Medicine is the first of the Nobel Prizes awarded each year. It will be followed by physics prize on Tuesday, and chemistry on Wednesday.

This year’s double-header Literature Prizes will be awarded Thursday and the Peace Prize will be announced on Friday.

The economics prize will be awarded on Oct. 14.

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