Gene Targeting in Embryonic Stem Cells Scores a Knockout in Stockholm

The 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mario Capecchi, Martin Evans, and Oliver Smithies for developing specific gene modification techniques and mouse embryonic stem cell technology that, when combined, enable the creation of “knockout” mice. Analyses of these mutant animals have revolutionized the elucidation of gene functions, and these mice have proved to be valuable models of numerous human diseases.