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Nobel Awarded for Discovering the Power of Cells

A Japanese medical biologist won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on autophagy, the process by which cells digest and recycle themselves.

by Sarah Schroeder

Lead image for this article
Credit: Callie Richmond

A Japanese medical biologist won the 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on autophagy, the process by which cells digest and recycle themselves, which led to further discoveries about a cell’s potential to fight cancer. (Nature)

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Sarah Schroeder’s staff photo