Lindahl, Tomas Robert (1938-…), a Swedish-born biologist , won the 2015 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his discoveries on how the molecule DNA is repaired in living things. DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the molecule responsible for inheritance. Lindahl shared the prize with two biochemists: the American Paul Modrich and the Turkish-born American Aziz Sancar . Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes that take place in living things.
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.
Lindahl identified and studied the function of certain enzymes that repair DNA by removing harmful errors. Enzymes are proteins that speed up or make possible a chemical reaction . The enzymes studied by Lindahl significantly reduce the chance of mutations in DNA. Understanding the ways in which DNA repairs itself and prevents errors can help scientists understand and treat such diseases as cancer .
Lindahl was born on Jan. 28, 1938, in Stockholm, Sweden. He received his Ph.D. degree in 1967 from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. From 1978 to 1981, he was professor of medical and physiological chemistry at the University of Gothenburg (also spelled Goteborg), Sweden. He then moved to the United Kingdom, where he began work with the Imperial Cancer Research Fund in London, now part of the Francis Crick Institute. He retired in 2009.
