Nobels awarded for AIDS, cancer virus research (AP)

By MALCOLM RITTER, AP Science Writer 24 minutes ago Two French scientists who discovered the AIDS virus and a German who defied convention in showing a viral cause for cervical cancer shared the Nobel Prize in medicine Monday for breakthroughs that have led to lifesaving drugs and a vaccine. Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier of France were cited for their discovery of HIV in 1983. They shared the award with Germany's Harald zur Hausen, who found that certain human papilloma viruses cause cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women worldwide. Zur Hausen discovered that two types of HPV promote cervical cancer, bucking a prevailing idea that blamed a different kind of virus. He made the viruses available to the scientific community. That led to the development of HPV vaccines to prevent cervical cancer.... [read full story]