Analysis for Science Librarians of the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine: The Work of J.E. Rothman, R.W. Schekman, and T.C. Südhof

Abstract

The traffic inside a single cell has been described as “… complicated as rush hour near any metropolitan area” (Howard Hughes Medical Institute 2013a). What this year’s three winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine have done is describe how molecules are able to read molecular traffic signs, enabling them to navigate the heavy intracellular traffic—a fundamental process in cellular physiology (Howard Hughes Medical Institute 2013a). This article gives an overview of the work of James Rothman, Randy Schekman, and Thomas Südhof, the 2013 Nobel laureates in Physiology and Medicine.