Two U.S. researchers will share the Nobel Prize for physiology/medicine for their work on RNA interference (RNAi). The research focuses on genetic activity that helps the body fight viruses and infectious disease.

The scientists are Andrew Fire, a molecular biologist at Stanford University and Craig Mello, affiliated with the University of Massachusetts.

Fire, Mellow and a team of researchers discovered that certain RNA molecules can be used to turn off specific genes in animal cells. The research is significant because it may speed the development of medical cures. Before their work, genetic research was laborious and slow, but Fire and Mellow's RNAi is a way to efficiently "turn off" selected genes and remove their biological influence during research as well as clinical efforts aimed at macular degeneration, pneumonia, AIDS, high cholesterol, cancer and hepatitis.


The winners will receive $1.4 million. The award will be given Dec. 8 in Stockholm.

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