The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Shaina Sikka 
Period 2
Mr. Mathieu 
October 20, 2013

Author: Nobel Media 
Publication: October 7, 2013 

"The 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine - Press Release".Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2013. Web. 20 Oct 2013. 

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2013/press.html

Summary: 
Three scientists, Randy Schekman, James Rothman, and Thomas Südhof were awarded with the 2013 Nobel Prize for medicine for their discovery of how the cell organizes its transport system and how its cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time.  According to the scientists, each cell acts like a factory by producing molecules and then exporting them  in small membrane-bound sacs called vesicles. Randy Schekman solved the mystery of how vesicles know where and when to deliver their cargo by studying its genetic basis. Using yeast, he found flawed transport machinery, which lead to a defective transport system. Randy found that three genes controlled different areas of the cell’s transport system, and that the problem was due to a mutation of these genes. These genes were the controllers of vesicle traffic. Using cells from mammals,  James Rothman discovered a protein machinery that allows vesicles to fuse with their targets, permitting transfer of cargo. Thomas Südhof, using nerve cells, researched how the release of a vesicle's contents was accurately controlled. He also discovered signals that instructed the vesicles to release their cargo. All of these findings gave insight on how cargo is delivered with timing and precision within and outside the cell. Without these findings, the cell would become chaotic.

Connection:

This article relates to our study on cells. In lessons 6.4 and 6.5, we learned that vesicles are small membrane sacs that specialize in moving products into, out of, and within a cell. This connects to the article because it explains how the contents of vesicles are transported with precision and timing. In addition, in our curriculum we learned about proteins and organelles in cells. This article names  some molecules that are transported in vesicles, proteins being one of them. Further more, in chapter six we learned about the concepts of the endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, and the processes of endocytosis and exocytosis. Vesicles were the main topic of the entire article, and all of these concepts learnt in chapter six depend on the use of vesicles for the transportation of molecules.