Explanation lecture of the 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Dr. Svante Paabo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the Okinawa Institute of Science (OIST) for his leadership in decoding the Neanderthal and Denisovan genomes and for his work in developing a new concept of human evolution. This is the first Nobel Prize in evolutionary studies, and was very exciting news for researchers specializing in evolutionary studies. The Center for Human Resource Development of Science for Future Creation, Faculty of Science, Hiroshima University, invited me to give a lecture on his 2022 Nobel Prize (December 11, 2022, Higashi Senda Campus, Hiroshima University), where I explained the circumstances and significance of the award.

The origin of modern humans has long been debated between the multiregional evolution theory and the African origin theory, and various theories have been proposed, but Dr. Paabo undertook the extremely difficult task of extracting DNA from fossil human bones and decoding their genomes, and finally achieved the feat of decoding the genomes of Neanderthals and Denisovans in 2010. It is a very romantic story that traces of extinct fossil humans contribute to the elements (genomes) that form us modern humans, and it is intriguing to know in what kind of genes (or genetic polymorphisms) make us who we are. The survival of the present species through repeated interbreeding among multiple species and populations is one of the complex biological evolutions through hybridization that has been attracting much attention recently, and I believe that the human genus, including modern humans, is one of such organisms. In this sense, this award has a significant impact not only on human evolution but also on evolutionary studies in general.
Behind this work are breakthroughs in new analytical technologies such as PCR and next-generation sequencers, but above all, I believe that Dr. Paabo’s passion for evolutionary studies and his continuous efforts to led to this award. I was moved when I watched Dr. Paabo’s award ceremony while preparing the slides for my lecture.