WINNING the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is no mean feat. Ask James E. Rothman, Randy W. Schekman and Thomas C. Südhof  who have been jointly awarded the prestigious prize for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in human cells.

In layman’s terms, the 2013 Nobel Prize honours the three scientists for solving  the mystery of how the cell organizes its transport system. Each cell is a factory that produces and exports molecules. For instance, insulin is manufactured and released into the blood and signaling molecules called neurotransmitters are sent from one nerve cell to another. These molecules are transported around the cell in small packages called vesicles.

The three Nobel Laureates  discovered the molecular principles that govern how this cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time in the cell.

Schekman discovered a set of genes that were required for vesicle traffic, while Rothman  unravelled protein machinery that allows vesicles to fuse with their targets to permit transfer of cargo. On his part, Sudhof revealed how signals instruct vesicles to release their cargo with precision.

Through their discoveries, Rothman, Schekman and Sudhof have revealed the exquisitely precise control system for the transport and delivery of cellular cargo. Disturbances in this system have deleterious effects and contribute to conditions such as neurological diseases, diabetes, and immunological disorders.

The three Nobel Laureates have discovered a fundamental process in cell physiology –  discoveries that have had a major impact on  understanding on cell function with timing and precision.