The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2012 was awarded jointly to Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka "for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors"

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2012 to Robert J Lefkowitz, Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA and Brian K Kobilka, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA for groundbreaking discoveries that reveal the inner workings of an important family of such receptors: G-protein–coupled receptors.

The studies by Lefkowitz and Kobilka are crucial for understanding how G-protein–coupled receptors function. 

"About half of all medications achieve their effect through G-protein-coupled receptors," the jury said.

"Knowing what they look like and how they function will allow us the tools...(leading to) better drugs with fewer side-effects," said committee member Sven Lidin.

Photograph: Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka

Credit: Reuters