The Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 2020 was awarded to Michael Houghton, Harvey Alter and Charles Rice. The prize was awarded for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus.
The announcement of the winner was broadcast live on the website of the Nobel Committee.
Last year the Nobel Prize in Medicine for Briton Sir Peter Ratcliffe and Americans William Kelin Jr. and Gregg Semenza. They were researching how cells respond and adapt to changes in oxygen levels in the environment.
Nobel Week opened with the announcement of the Nobel Prize winners in medicine. Prize winners in physics will be announced on Tuesday, chemistry winners on Wednesday, and literature on Thursday. On Friday, it will become known who will receive the Nobel Peace Prize. On October 12, the winner of the prize in the field of economics will be determined.
In connection with the coronavirus pandemic, the traditional December Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm with the personal participation of the laureates was canceled for the first time since 1944: then it was due to the ongoing war. Instead of a face-to-face event, a live TV broadcast will be organized from around the world. In Norway, they decided to hold the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, but with a smaller number of participants.
