Nobel Prize for discovering immune security guards

The Nobel Physiology or Medicine 2025 award was given for discoveries explaining how the immune system attacks enemy infections, but how the body attacks its own cells.

The award is shared by Japan’s Shimon Sakaguchi and US researchers Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell.

They discovered the “security guards” that eliminate the parts of the immune system that can attack the body.

His studies are used to develop new treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The winners share a prize fund worth 11 million Swedish crowns (£ 870,000).

“His discoveries, how the immune system functions and why we did not develop serious autoimmune diseases was decisive,” he says.

“The discoveries formed the basis for a new research area, for example, encouraged the development of new treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases.”