The Nobel committee said their research on “vesicle traffic” helped scientists understand how “cargo is delivered to the right place at the right time.”
Disturbances in the transport system of cells have “deleterious effects and contribute to conditions such as neurological diseases, diabetes and immunological disorders,” said the committee.
Mr Schekman said he planned to celebrate the award with his lab manager and students. “I called my lab manager and I told him to go buy a couple bottles of Champagne and expect to have a celebration with my lab.”
The trio have been working on the cell transportation research “over years, if not decades”, Mr Rothman told Associated Press.
More awards in physics, chemistry, literature, peace and economics will be announced this week and next.