Svante Paabo wins 2022 Nobel Prize in Medicine

Scientist Svante Paabo won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries "concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution", the award-giving body said on Monday (October 3).

The prize, arguably among the most prestigious in the scientific world, is awarded by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden's Karolinska Institute and is worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($900,357).

It is the first of this year's batch of prizes.

"He was overwhelmed, he was speechless. Very happy," said Thomas Perlmann, secretary for the Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine, who called Paabo with the news.

"He asked if he could tell anyone and asked if he could tell his wife and I said that was okay. He was incredibly thrilled about this award."

Paabo, son of the Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Sune Bergström, has been credited with transforming the study of human origins after developing approaches to allow for the examination of DNA sequences from archaeological and paleontological remains.

His key achievements include sequencing an entire Neanderthal genome to reveal the link between extinct people and modern humans.

He also brought to light the existence of a previously unknown human species called the Denisovans, from a 40,000-year-old fragment of a finger bone discovered in Siberia.

Created in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and wealthy businessman Alfred Nobel, the prizes for achievements in science, literature and peace have been awarded since 1901, though the economics prize is a later addition. _Agencies