Sancar, Aziz (1946-…), a Turkish-born American biochemist, won the 2015 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his discoveries on how the molecule DNA is repaired in living things. Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes that take place in living things. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the molecule responsible for inheritance. Sancar shared the prize with the Swedish-born biologist Tomas R. Lindahl and the American biochemist Paul L. Modrich .
DNA is a long, chainlike molecule . It carries genetic (hereditary) instructions encoded in sequences of chemical units called nucleotides. If a nucleotide becomes damaged, it can cause DNA to replicate (copy) a particular sequence incorrectly. Errors in replication can lead to mutations (changes) in a living thing’s genetic makeup. Mutations play a role in many diseases and genetic disorders.
Sancar identified ways in which living cells repair DNA damaged by ultraviolet (UV) light and other factors. These repair mechanisms significantly reduce the introduction of mutations into DNA. Understanding the ways in which DNA repairs itself and prevents errors can help scientists understand and treat such diseases as cancer .
Sancar was born on Sept. 8, 1946, in Savur, near Mardin, in southeastern Turkey. He studied medicine in Turkey and received his M.D. degree from the University of Istanbul in 1969. He earned a Ph.D. degree in molecular biology at the University of Texas at Dallas in 1977. He conduced research at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, from 1977 to 1982. In 1982, he began work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
