Nobel prize week has begun, with the first one being awarded in Sweden on Monday.
It went to three scientists for uncovering something the Nobel committee says has occupied the imaginations of philosophers and scientists for centuries.
Park Ji-won reports.
The Norwegian husband and wife team of May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser,... together with their British-American colleague John O′Keefe,... have been awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for discovering the human brain′s "GPS system."
The discovery of so-called "grid cells"... that become active... when trying to map and navigate the outside world,... explains how the brain knows where we are and is able to guide us from point A to point B.
"Everyone is here to celebrate with us today. It is absolutely fantastic What we are interested in is to register small signals, electrical signals from the brain so that we uncover the mysteries of the brain, such as sense of place and memory."
May-Britt Moser′s husband and co-researcher Edvard was told the news after getting off a flight from Germany.
"Of course, I am full of gratitude. It′s a great moment."
O′Keefe explains the possible ramifications of the team′s studies, including how it could ultimately help Alzheimer′s patients and stroke victims.
"Once we understand how an aspect of the world, in this case an aspect of the brain works, we then will start thinking about well what goes wrong with that part of the brain. How does it go wrong, for example in Alzheimer′s disease?"
The trio of scientists will receive eight-million Swedish crowns,... or some one-point-one million U.S. dollars,... for broadening our understanding of the human brain′s cognitive functions.
Park Ji-won, Arirang News.