On Monday, Swedish scientist Svante Paabo won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his groundbreaking research in human evolution by sequencing the genome of Neanderthal DNA and discovering the previously unknown hominin Denisova.
Paabo’s discovery helps us understand what makes humans unique and provides a key insight into our immune system. In a study published in 2020, the scientist and his team reported that Covid patients with certain gene variants inherited from Neanderthals are at a greater risk of severe illness than those who did not.
According to a recording posted on the Nobel website, he thought that the call from Sweden informing him of his Nobel Prize win was an elaborate prank by colleagues or about his summer house in Sweden. “So I was just gulping down the last cup of tea to go and pick up my daughter at her nanny where she has had an overnight stay”, he said in the interview, describing his day.
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He added, “And then I got this call from Sweden and I of course thought it had something to do with our little summer house…I thought the lawn mower had broken down or something.” Subsequently, he was asked if he thought he would get the award he said, “No, I have received a couple of prizes before but I somehow did not think that this really would qualify for a Nobel Prize.”
Notably, Paabo’s father, Sune Bergstrom also won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1982, making this the 8th time that a son or daughter of a Nobel laureate has also won the prize. His father also took a “big interest” in his work but it was his mother who was the “biggest influence” in his life and with whom he grew up, he said during the interview.
In his book, “Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes,” he called himself Bergstrom’s “secret extramarital son”, this was also something he reportedly touched upon during the interview.
(With inputs from agencies)
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