Rose, Irwin

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US scientist. With Israeli scientist Aaron Ciechanover and Hungarian-born Israeli scientist Avram Hershko, Rose shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2004 for his contributions to the discovery of how cells use selection and degradation processes to regulate protein levels.

The human cell contains around 100,000 proteins that it uses in various forms, such as hormones or enzymes, to carry out specific functions, such as accelerators in chemical reactions or aiding the immune defence system. Before the award-winning work had been carried out, research had concentrated on how proteins were made in the cell, but less was known about the mechanisms of protein degradation, the process used to removed damaged or unwanted proteins. Rose and his fellow Nobel laureates discovered that a protein called ubitquitin formed a stable covalent bond with unwanted proteins, effectively labelling them for destruction. Later work showed that several ubiquitin molecules attached themselves to the labelled protein and delivered it to a structure in the cell called a proteasome, where it was degraded. It was subsequently seen that errors in the cell degradation process can cause major diseases such as cystic fibrosis, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease to occur.

Yellow symbolizes the golden land of South America. Red stands for courage and the blood of the freedom fighters. Blue represents the ocean separating South America from Spain. Effective date: 17 February 1954. >>